Amchur and fenugreek lamb rumps with leek purée and pickled tomatoes

  • medium
  • 4
  • 1 hour 10 minutes
Not yet rated

These beautifully spiced lamb rumps from Anna Hansen are full of Asian flavours, including warming ginger, aromatic fenugreek and fragrant amchur – a powder of dried, green mango. This dish is great for getting ahead, as the lamb is marinated for 24 hours before being quickly cooked, and the pickled tomatoes can also be made a day ahead. A creamy leek purée, sweetened with Japanese plum wine, and seared baby gem lettuces add vibrancy and texture to the dish.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Marinade

Pickled tomatoes

Leek purée

Baby gems

Equipment

  • Blender

Method

1
For the marinade, place all the ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth. Place the lamb rumps in a dish and pour over the marinade, making sure the lamb is well coated. Cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge for 24 hours
2
The pickled tomatoes can also be made up to a day ahead. Place the white wine vinegar, brown sugar and coarse sea salt in a large pan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved, then set aside
3
In a separate pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil until just starting to smoke, then add the minced ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, Szechuan pepper, cumin and cayenne. Stir over the heat for a few minutes, until the spices are aromatic and fragrant
4
Take off the heat and combine with the vinegar mixture, then pour over the chopped tomatoes, shallots and chilli in a bowl. Mix well, then store in the fridge until needed
  • 500g of tomatoes, peeled,deseeded and flesh chopped
  • 2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 red chilli, halved lengthways and finely sliced
5
For the leek purée, add the shallots, garlic and ginger to a pan with the butter and cook over a medium heat until the shallots are very soft. Add the plum wine and continue to cook until the mixture has reduced by half
  • 125g of shallots, peeled and finely sliced
  • 15g of fresh ginger, minced or finely chopped
  • 10g of garlic, minced or finely chopped
  • 65g of butter
  • 75ml of plum wine, or a fortified wine if unavailable
6
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, then add the sliced leeks and blanch for 1 minute. Drain, then add to the shallot mixture along with the cream. Bring to the boil then remove from the heat
  • 500g of leek, finely sliced
  • 75ml of double cream
7
Add the mixture to a blender and blitz to a smooth purée (for a really smooth texture, you could also pass the purée through a fine sieve). Season to taste and keep warm until ready to serve
8
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
9
For the baby gems, heat a frying pan over a high heat with a little oil, then sear the lettuce halves with a little salt and pepper
10
Transfer the seared lettuce to a baking tray and spoon over any cooking liquid from the pan. Add a knob of butter and bake the lettuce in the oven for 5 minutes
11
To cook the lamb, remove the rumps from the marinade and place fat-side down in a hot ovenproof frying pan. Pan-fry over a medium heat for a few minutes to render the fat down, season with a little salt and pepper, then when starting to caramelise, add a knob of butter and flip the rumps over
12
Transfer to the oven and cook for 7–9 minutes. At this point the lamb will be very tender and quite rare, so cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rest for 15 minutes
13
To serve, spread a spoonful of the leek purée across each plate, then top with a baby gem lettuce half, spreading out the leaves. Slice the lamb rumps and place on top with a spoonful or of the pickled tomatoes. Garnish with some fresh watercress and drizzle over lamb juices from the pan
First published in 2015

Whether you call it 'fusion', 'global' or 'basically indescribable' is beside the point; Anna Hansen's food is without a doubt fresh and adventurous - you might even call it modern.

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