lamb

spring lamb, vegetable platter, mint sauce, chianti gravy, chocolate fondue

servings
4-6

method

TO START Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Put a large frying pan and a large saucepan on a high heat. Fill and boil the kettle. Turn the oven on to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.

LAMB Halve the rack of lamb, then season with salt & pepper and add to the frying pan with a lug of olive oil.

VEGETABLES Wash the potatoes and trim the tops of the carrots. Add everything to the large saucepan with a pinch of salt. Rip the leafy tops off the bunch of mint and put aside for the mint sauce. Make sure the band is still around the stalks, then add them to the saucepan. Just cover with boiled water and crumble in the chicken stock cube. Put the lid on.

LAMB Drizzle olive oil straight into the pack of neck filet and season. Turn the racks of lamb then put the two neck filets in the pan. Sear the ends of the meat and keep coming back to the pan and turning each piece so they brown all over.

Pull the leaves off 3 sprigs of rosemary and put into a pestle & mortar with a good pinch of salt & pepper. Peel the garlic, add to the mortar, and pound really well. Turn the lamb over. Add Dijon mustard to the mortar with a good couple of lugs of olive oil and a swig of white wine vinegar. Mix well.

Make sure all sides of the lamb are seared, then use tongs to transfer all of it to a roasting tray. Pour away most of the fat in the pan, then put it back on a very low heat for the gravy. Spoon the dressing from the pestle & mortar over the lamb and put the vines of cherry tomatoes on top. Move everything around until well coated in the dressing. Sprinkle with salt, then whack on the top shelf of the oven and set the timer for 14minutes for blushing to medium meat, slightly less for rare, and more for well done. Turn the racks over halfway through.

GRAVY Finely slice the bacon and put into the frying pan.

MINT SAUCE Finely chop the reserved mint leaves and add to the unwashed pestle & mortar. Pound, then add the red wine vinegar, caster sugar, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of cooking water from the veg pot. Muddle together with the pestle, have a taste to check the balance, and add a tiny splash of extra virgin olive oil. Take to the table with a spoon.

GRAVY Turn the heat under the bacon right up and add the leaves from the rosemary. Stir in the flour, red wine and a few ladles of cooking water.

VEGETABLES Trim all the beans and put the runner beans through a runner bean slicer or slice at an angle, 1cm thick. Cut the Savoy cabbage half in two and click off any tatty outer leaves, then discard the stalk. Cut the cabbage into thin wedges. Add the cabbage, beans and peas to the saucepan, then stir and put the lid back on.

LAMB Turn the lamb over. If your tomatoes are coloring too much, lean the meat on top of them.

GRAVY Stir in a spoonful of cooking water if needed.

FONDUE Smash the bar of chocolate in its wrapping then unwrap and put it into a small microwave-safe bowl with the vanilla paste or extract, a small pinch of salt and the milk. Microwave on full power for 1½ minutes, leave to rest for a few seconds and stir, then microwave for 1 more minute
on full power. Meanwhile, chop all your fruit into bite-sized chunks and wedges and pile these on a platter. Take the bowl out of the microwave and stir until all the chocolate has melted, then put the bowl on the platter and take to the table.

LAMB When the 14 minutes are up, take your lamb out of the oven and leave it to rest for a minute.

VEGETABLES Drain the veg in a colander, then return them to the pan. Drizzle well with extra virgin olive oil, and add a good pinch of salt & pepper and a knob of butter. Squeeze over the juice of ½ a lemon and toss well. Tip on to a large serving platter and take to the table.

GRAVY Taste and correct the seasoning, then pour into a gravy boat and take to the table.

TO SERVE Cut the racks into individual chops and slice up the neck fillet. Pile on a platter. Move most of the cherry tomatoes to the platter on top of the lamb, mushing the rest into the cooking juices. Stir in a good lug of extra virgin olive oil, then drizzle over the platter and serve.

Recipe from:

30-minute-meals

ingredients

LAMB
• 1 x 8-bone rack of lamb, fat removed
• 1 x 2-piece pack of lamb neck fillet
(approx 250g)
• 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• white wine vinegar
• 300g cherry tomatoes on the vine

GRAVY
• 4 rashers of smoked bacon
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
• ½ a glass of red wine

VEGETABLES
• 500g baby new potatoes
• 250g baby carrots
• stalks from a bunch of fresh mint
• 1 organic chicken stock cube
• 200g fine beans
• 200g runner beans
• ½ a Savoy cabbage
• 200g frozen peas
• a knob of butter
• ½ a lemon

MINT SAUCE
• leaves from a bunch of fresh mint
• 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon golden caster sugar

SEASONINGS
• olive oil
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt & black pepper

FONDUE
• 1 x 100g bar of good-quality dark
• chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
• 100ml milk
• 4–6 handfuls of mixed fruit, such as
mango, strawberries or pineapple

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tried this recipe or a similar one? share your tips...

1. by jones29 on Mon 23 Jan 2012 @ 22:56

made this several times, probably my favorite jamie oliver recipe. try it!!!

2. by JuliaG on Sat 24 Sep 2011 @ 14:33

Just made this at home, awesome recipe and came out reallly well! top notch.. just make sure the chocolate is not too hot when dipping in body parts.. Enjoy.

3. by Holy on Sat 13 Aug 2011 @ 03:26

no one answered my question...too silly maybe? :( oh well, I ´ll just wait...but not too long because I am throwing a dinner party tomorrow and had one more question: I decided to marinate my lamb in olive oil since today, and besides that, I used thyme instead of using rosemary...should I add the rosemary tomorrow when I cook it or more thyme? how about the gravy , should I use rosemary or thyme? I sure hope someone answers my questions because tomorrow´s dinner is important: the judge that actually sent my hubbie to jail (unjustly) is coming to dinner, (he´s been exonerated and all, thank God) after all she made us suffer and all, my hubbie still has the heart and the intelligence to make friends even after someone sent him to prison, well, let me tell you something, it´s the weirdest dinner guest we have EVER had ..hehe, funny, ain´t it? so...thyme or rosemary?

4. by Holy on Wed 10 Aug 2011 @ 15:43

Just a question, when Jamie says " whack on the top shelf of the oven and set the timer for 14minutes for blushing to medium meat" how many degrees (Fahrenheit) would medium heat be? THANKS! :)

5. by Akiko on Mon 08 Aug 2011 @ 10:23

I just cooked 2nd time tonight. Love the flavour. worked on pork filet too.

6. by Akiko on Mon 08 Aug 2011 @ 10:20

I just cooked this 2nd time today. Love the flavour. It worked on pork filet too.

7. by Moz Kite on Sun 31 Jul 2011 @ 02:06

Far too complicated for me Jamie. I’m just a bloke who can’t cook for nuts, but I am trying to surprise my wife because she deserves it. Where do I find the “can’t cook for nuts” section. Thanks heaps Moz PS. I live your work.

8. by Ned kelly Girl on Mon 25 Jul 2011 @ 11:29

yumm thank you...

9. by Louise_2783 on Wed 01 Jun 2011 @ 23:17

Had this for dinner last night and it was beautiful! Hubby didn't enjoy the mint sauce too much, was a bit tart for him but his loss!! Only mistake was I missed out the cabbage... oh well!!

10. by sam on Tue 12 Apr 2011 @ 16:30

would this work with lamb pieces rather than lamb on the bone?

11. by LauraStephanie on Tue 29 Mar 2011 @ 18:20

I am doing this recipe for a course and I hope it works!I am only doing the fondue part, because we are learning dips. It sounds yummy!

12. by StuPendrill on Sat 26 Mar 2011 @ 21:43

Just cooked this one. Bloomin marvelous, just follow what he says and it really works. I'm still in smug mode. I've earned so many Brownie points tonight.......tee hee

13. by Mistie on Tue 08 Feb 2011 @ 00:35

Made this tonight for my other half and it defiantly went downs treat! All in all took me 45 mins to do! Not bad for my first try and it was yummy!

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