It was my Mums birthday on Saturday .... in fact it
was her 85th birthday so we threw a surprise lunch for a selection of family and friends both young and old. It was a
lovely occasion, I wanted to cook something special but fairly traditional and easy to
prepare for ten. I turned to Raymond Blanc's 'Kitchen Secrets' ... it’s not a
book I use that much but on the basis of these recipes maybe I should. Both the
lamb and the potatoes turned out really well and were gratifyingly easy to
prepare.
We served it with some tenderstem broccoli, chantenay
carrots and salsa verde.
We had beetroot marinated salmon to start and poached pears to finish.
We had beetroot marinated salmon to start and poached pears to finish.
Raymond Blanc's slow roasted shoulder of
lamb
This dish epitomises good home cooking. Shoulder is
one of the cheaper cuts of lamb, yet here it is transformed into a wholesome
meal – the long, slow cooking rendering the meat tender, juicy and incredibly
tasty. Maman Blanc never used stock – just water, herbs and the occasional
splash of wine to create delectable cooking juices. A shoulder of lamb will
vary in weight according to the time of year. In spring and early summer, it
will be about 1.5kg, while in August it could be 2kg, and in November around 3kg,
so you’ll need to adjust the cooking time accordingly: a 2kg shoulder will take
4½ hours; one weighing 3kg will need 5½ hours
Ingredients
1.5kg Shoulder
of lamb
700g/1lb 8oz
lamb bones your butcher should be able to give you these
4 pinches
sea salt and ½ tsp freshly ground black
pepper
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves only,
finely chopped
3 sage leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 bulb garlic, cut in half
horizontally
100ml/4fl oz
Chardonnay wine, or other dry white wine
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs thyme
Method
The lamb can be scored and marinated several hours ahead.
To prepare the lamb
Lightly score the skin of the lamb. Rub all over with the salt, pepper,
chopped herbs and olive oil. Set aside to marinate at room temperature for 1
hour
Preheat the oven to 230°C/Gas 8. Heat the rapeseed oil in a large
heavy-duty roasting pan over a medium heat. Add the lamb bones and meat
trimmings and colour, turning from time to time, for 7–10 minutes until lightly
golden
Add the garlic and brown for 3 minutes, then take the roasting pan off
the heat.
To roast the lamb
Sit the seasoned lamb shoulder on top of the bones and roast in the oven
for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small pan, bring the wine to the boil and let
bubble for 30 seconds, then add 400ml water, the bay leaf and thyme.
Take the lamb out of the oven and baste the joint with the pan juices,
removing any excess fat. Add the wine mixture to the roasting pan, stirring to
scrape up the sediment on the base of the pan
Turn the oven to 150ºC/Gas 2. Cover the meat loosely with a piece of
foil and return to the oven. Roast for a further 4 hours, basting every 30
minutes with the pan juices.
If, at the end of cooking, the pan juices are reduced right down, stir
in about 100ml water to extend the jus.
To serve
Remove the lamb from the oven. Strain the juices into a small saucepan
and remove the excess fat from the surface. Set the lamb aside to rest. Reheat
the juices until bubbling, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Pour into a
warmed sauceboat. Place the lamb and braised vegetables on the table so your
guests can help themselves. The lamb will be tender enough to be portioned with
a spoon, though you can carve it with a knife if you prefer.
Potato and fennel gratin
This is
actually a recipe for potato and turnip gratin but I decided to change it up a
bit with fennel instead of turnips. Seriously satisfying, this is a take on one
of the truly great potato dishes. Layers of potato and fennel are cooked in a
rich garlic cream to delicious effect. It goes well with any roast and is
especially good with beef but wasn't half bad with lamb either. It has a
frightening amount of cream for the feint-hearted (or even those looking after
their hearts)but you don't need much and it tastes delicious.
We used
Charlotte potatoes but Raymond recommends Desiree or Belle de Fontenay.
Serves 6
Ingredients
550g
medium potatoes
3
large fennel bulbs
500ml whipping cream
10g/10 pinches sea salt
1g/2 pinches freshly ground black or white pepper
10g/2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
Method
To infuse the cream
In a small pan over a medium heat, bring the cream to
a simmer. Add the seasoning and crushed garlic, remove from the heat and set
aside to infuse while you prepare the vegetables.
To prepare the vegetables
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Peel the potatoes
and fennel, and cut into fine (2mm) slices, using a mandoline.
To assemble the dish
Layer half of the potato and turnip slices in a large
gratin dish, then pour on half of the warm cream through a strainer. Layer the
remaining vegetable slices on top, making sure you finish the gratin with a
layer of potatoes only. Strain the remaining cream over and press the potato
slices gently with the back of a spoon to ensure the cream is evenly
distributed.
To cook
Cover with foil and bake on a baking sheet in the oven
for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle the grated cheese, if using,
evenly over the surface. Bake, uncovered, for a further 30 minutes or until the
top is golden brown and the vegetables are just cooked through. Leave to stand
for 5 minutes before serving.
Planning ahead
The gratin can be cooked an hour before the meal and reheated for 20 minutes
before serving.
Raymond's
Notes
The salt and herb rub will permeate the lamb with a subtle flavour. The
meat needs to be out of the fridge for at least a couple of hours before
cooking to ensure it reaches room temperature before going into the oven.
Do not colour the bones too much, or the resulting jus will taste bitter
and astringent. And remember there is 4 hours of slow cooking ahead.
The bones serve two purposes. Firstly, they provide a platform for the
lamb joint, allowing the heat to circulate all around it, facilitating even
cooking. If the joint sits directly on the base of the pan, the meat in direct
contact is liable to dry out. Secondly, the caramelised bones provide the basis
for a wonderful pan jus.
Don’t wash the potatoes after slicing them, as the starch present will
help to bind the layers together.
The starch in the potatoes will give you a golden caramelisation. If,
instead, the top layer was turnip slices, they would dry out and curl up.
To test if the gratin is cooked, insert the tip of a sharp knife in the
middle; it should meet with little resistance (you shouldn’t be able to feel
the layers).
Variations
Flavour the seasoning rub for the lamb with spices rather than herbs –
cumin and coriander seeds will give it an Indian flavour.
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