English vegetable minestrone with a roasted chump of Lune Valley lamb and lovage pesto
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Lovage thrives in cold climates and is easy to grow in pots; it’s a great herb to have on hand for adding interest to dishes but its strong, bold flavour (a distinctive mix of parsley, celery, and aniseed) needs to be used judiciously. In this pesto it’s mixed half-and-half with sweet basil, rather than used on its own. It still adds a wallop to this elegant take on minestrone. Serve with Adam Gray's brilliant roast lamb for a rich, warming supper.
First published in 2015
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Lamb
- 4 lamb rumps, 150g each
- 100g of peas
- 100g of broad beans
- 8 baby leeks
- 8 baby carrots
- 6 baby onions
- 2 plum tomatoes
- 200ml of rapeseed oil
- 2 tbsp of butter
- salt
- white pepper
- 2 tbsp of water
Minestrone sauce
- 1 small onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stick
- 1 dash of rapeseed oil
- 1/2 garlic clove
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig of fresh tarragon
- 500g of cherry tomatoes
- 500ml of vegetable stock
Lovage pesto
- 1/4 bunch of basil
- 1/4 bunch of fresh lovage
- 1/2 garlic clove
- 90ml of rapeseed oil
- salt
- black pepper
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Fine sieve
- Blender
Method
1
To make the lovage pesto, discard the herb stalks and roughly chop the leaves. Put them in a food processor with the garlic and blend, slowly adding the rapeseed oil until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper
- 1/4 bunch of basil
- 1/4 bunch of fresh lovage
- 1/2 garlic clove
- 90ml of rapeseed oil
- salt
- black pepper
2
To make the minestrone sauce, roughly chop the onion, carrot and celery. Heat a little rapeseed oil in a heavy-based saucepan, add the chopped vegetables and cook over a moderate heat without browning until softened
- 1 small onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stick
- 1 dash of rapeseed oil
3
Crush the garlic and add it to the pan with the bay leaf and tarragon. Continue cooking for a further 3-5 minutes
- 1/2 garlic clove
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig of fresh tarragon
4
Halve the cherry tomatoes and add them to the pan. Cover and stew gently for 10 minutes. When the tomatoes are soft, pour in the vegetable stock and cook for a further 15 minutes
- 500g of cherry tomatoes
- 500ml of vegetable stock
5
Purée the sauce in a liquidiser then pass it through a fine sieve. Set aside
6
To prepare the lamb, preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4
7
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and get ready an iced water bath. Peel and trim all the vegetables as necessary, cutting the spring onions and carrots to an appropriate length for the dish
- 100g of peas
- 100g of broad beans
- 8 baby leeks
- 8 baby carrots
- 6 baby onions
- salt
8
Blanch each variety separately in the boiling water then plunge them into the iced water to refresh. Remove them to a tray lined with kitchen paper and set aside. The peas and borad beans will take 2 minutes, the baby onions 3 and the carrots 4.
9
Place an ovenproof frying pan on the hob over a medium heat. Season the lamb chumps with salt and pepper and lay them in the frying pan fat-side down
10
Allow the fat on the lamb to render and, once it is golden brown, continue colouring the lamb on all sides until it is light golden brown
11
Transfer the lamb to the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes for medium-rare meat. Set aside to rest on a wire rack
12
When almost ready to serve, make a butter and water emulsion. Heat 2 tablespoons of water in a saucepan and add the same quantity of butter
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 2 tbsp of water
13
Let it melt into the water and whisk to emulsify as the mixture comes to the boil
14
Cut the plum tomatoes into quarters then peel and deseed them. Add the tomato flesh to the butter and water emulsion along with the blanched vegetables and reheat gently, stirring to coat them in the emulsion
15
Gently warm the minestrone sauce in a saucepan, without letting it boil, and return the lamb to the hot oven for 2-3 minutes
16
Take your serving dishes and arrange the cooked vegetables on the left hand side of each plate. Spoon over a little of the lovage pesto
17
Carve each lamb rump into four equal slices and place on the right hand side of the plate. Serve the warm minestrone sauce in a jug on the side
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