Paul Blakey, the Executive Head Chef at Matfen Hall, shows readers how to achieve a restaurant-standard lamb dish at home with this recipe for a Tasting of Northumbrian Lamb.
(Serves 4)
Ingredients
1 rack of lamb (skin removed and bones cleaned)
1 lamb fillet
1 lamb shoulder (bones out)
For the marinade for the shoulder:
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of thyme
1 bunch of rosemary
Rock salt
Cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
For the pea puree:
1lb fresh peas (frozen can be used)
A splash of white wine
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 sprigs of fresh mint
½ pint of double cream
½ pint of milk
Salt and pepper
Method
For the confit shoulder:
- Score the shoulder several times and cover with marinade. Place in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
- Wash marinade off & and submerge the shoulder in 3 – 4 pints of warm goose fat (vegetable oil could be used as an alternative).
- Cover and place in a pre-heated oven at 160C & cook for 4 hours.
- Remove carefully from the oven and leave to cool.
- When cold enough to handle (but still warm) break down into flakes removing most of the lamb fat (Goose fat can be stored and used again), check seasoning.
- Form into a sausage between layers of cling film. Roll cling film tight to form a cylinder and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
For the pea puree:
- Cook the onion and garlic in butter without colouring until soft, add white wine and reduce by half, add mint.
- Add cream and reduce, then add the milk.
- Add peas and seasoning, then cook for 2 further minutes.
- Puree in a food blender.
- Pass through a fine sieve, adjust seasoning if necessary.
For the rack of lamb:
- Cover the bones with tinfoil to prevent burning, then season the rack of lamb.
- Seal the meat in an oven-proof pan and cook skin down in the oven for 8-10mins (for pink, 4-5mins more for cooked through).
- Once cooked rest on a cooking rack before carving.
Fro the filet:
- Repeat the same process used for the rack of lamb, but the fillet will only take 3-4mins depending on size.
For the confit shoulder (again):
- Remove from the fridge and take off cling film, cut a 4cm slice.
- Seal in hot pan and cook in oven for 2mins. Or alternatively pane in breadcrumbs and deep fry.
To serve:
- Slice the rack and fillet.
- Wilt a generous portion of spinach in butter and place the sliced fillet on top.
- Then place pea puree on the plate and put the sliced confit lamb shoulder on top.
- Place sliced rack on the plate.
- (optional) Serve with a fondant potato and mint jelly as a garnish.
