easter lamb

For the main course of the dinner party I thought it only fit to roast a rack of lamb. I ordered the meat from a good local butcher. Make sure you ask for it to be chined and trimmed, that way they will give it to you as it will look on the plate, and you don't have to faff around with it!
My racks had been cut into 3 chop sections. My mums friend Kirsty is a brilliant cook, and she gave me a tip; before flash frying the lamb, cover the fat side with dijon mustard and fresh rosemary....so now you know!


Here was the full menu:


Roast rack of lamb, with mustard and rosemary with dauphinoise potatoes, wilted spinach and salsa verde.



Rack of lamb. (a good quality rack of lamb, dijon mustard, rosemary, salt, pepper)

PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 200. COVER THE FAT SIDE OF RACK WITH LASHINGS OF DIJON MUSTARD AND FRESH ROSEMARY, YUMMY! BEFORE ROASTING THE RACK, FLASH FRY. PLACE THE RACK, FAT SIDE DOWN IN V.HOT OLIVE OIL IN A FRYING PAN, BROWN OFF THE FAT AND REMOVE FROM PAN. PLACE THE RACKS IN A ROASTING TRAY AND COOK ON A HIGH HEAT FOR A GOOD 2O MINS. (this all depends on how you like your meat-but I will warn you it can be deceiving. It can look overdone on the ends, and then you cut into it and it is red raw!). ONCE COOKED REMOVE FROM OVEN, LET THE MEAT REST FOR A GOOD 10 MINS, THEN SLICE INTO CHOPS AND SERVE.



Dauphinoise potatoes. (potatoes, garlic, nutmeg, double cream, cheese of choice, salt, pepper)

PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 180-200. USE MARIS PIPER POTATOES OR CHARLOTTE. PEEL POTATOES AND PUT INTO BOWL OF COLD WATER TO DE-STARCH. SLICE POTATOES V.FINELY INTO 10P WIDTH PIECES. THROW INTO A BIG MIXING BOWL AND GRATE PLENTY OF GARLIC CLOVES (1/2 clove per person, if you love garlic as much as I do!) INTO THE BOWL. GRATE SOME NUTMEG (not too much, it can be quite over-powering) INTO THE BOWL THEN ADD PLENTY OF DOUBLE CREAM. SEASON TO TASTE. MIX THEM ALL TOGETHER, THEN USING YOUR FINGERS, PLACE LAYERS OF POTATOES INTO A PYREX DISH, OCCASIONALLY POURING THE CREAM MIXTURE INTO THE LAYERS. LAYER POTATOES TO THE TOP OF THE DISH, THEN KEEP POURING THE CREAM UP TO THE SECOND TOP LAYER OF POTATOES (ie not up to the top otherwise there will be an accident!) FINISH WITH SOME GRATED CHEESE OF YOUR CHOICE (i just use good old chedder). PLACE IN OVEN AND COOK FOR 40-50 MINS (you want the top to be nice and brown.)
p.s Everyone has their own version of Dauphinoise potatoes, but this one is nice and simple! A good place to start!


The star of the show in this recipe was my salsa verde. I pinched the recipe from the 'Jamie at Home: cook your way to the good life' by Jamie Oliver.It sounds really salty! However, it is soooo good with lamb. Words can't quite describe. So just make it and see what you think!

Salsa Verde. (flat leaf parsley, mint, basil, baby gherkins, anchovy fillets, capers, olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, salt and pepper)

FINELY CHOP FRESH FLAT LEAF PARSLEY, MINT, AND BASIL. (it does need to be really fine, so keep going- its good for the arm muscles!). PLACE IN A BOWL. FINELY SLICE BABY GHERKINS, ANCHOVY FILLETS, CAPERS (salt fest, i know, but it's fine-don't panic) AND ADD TO THE BOWL OF HERBS. ADD A GOOD GLUG OF OLIVE OIL AND RED WINE VINEGAR AND A GENEROUS SPOON OF DIJON MUSTARD. SEASON TO TASTE, THEN ADD THE MIXTURE TO A FOOD PROCESSOR AND WIZZ FOR A SHORT TIME (you want it to be quite loose, but still with a few lumps and not a salty soup! ) THEN PLACE IN FRIDGE AND CHILL. EASY PEASY.

Finally, I wilted some spinach. So simple.

Wilted Spinach. (spinach, olive oil, salt)

USE A BIG DEEP STEAMER STYLE PAN. ADD A TINY BIT OF WATER, OLIVE OIL (the olive oil gives the spinach a good shiny gloss that looks good on the plate!) AND PINCH OF SALT TO THE PAN, WAIT FOR THE WATER TO BOIL THEN ADD THE SPINACH. COVER AND LEAVE TO WILT FOR 2 MINUTES (it's better to take it off sooner rather than later). DRAIN ANY EXCESS WATER AND SERVE.

That's it.


YUMMM. Happy Easter.x