Lamb, smoked aubergine, yoghurt and onions by Lee Westcott - Print Recipe

1

Preheat the water bath to 82°C/180°F

2

Trim the lamb belly and remove any excess fat and small bones. Season with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Seal in a vacuum bag and cook the lamb belly overnight. In the morning, remove from the bag and while hot, place between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Place a flat tray on top and evenly distribute weights on top of the tray to press the belly. Once cool, slice into even portions

1 lamb belly
oil
thyme
salt
pepper

3

To prepare the lamb loin, remove the 2 loins from the bone. Reserve the bones for sauce, or discard if not using. Remove the first layer of skin (set aside for step 21) from the lamb loin, then vacuum seal and cook at 56°C/133°F for 30 minutes. Remove and place the bag in ice water

1 whole saddle of lamb, on the bone, loins intact

4

For the confit garlic, place the oil in a pan over a medium heat, add the butter, then the garlic and salt. Colour the garlic for approximately 10 minutes until golden, then add the honey and thyme. Cook slowly for 8-10 minutes until tender

100g of garlic, peeled
1g of sea salt, Maldon
5g of lemon thyme
15g of butter
50ml of olive oil
30g of honey

5

For the smoked aubergine purée, place the aubergines (without oil) into a Green Egg or Josper - if you don’t have one of these, a household barbecue will work just as well. Cook all over for 15-20 minutes, or black all over

2 aubergines, cut in half lengthways

6

Remove the stalks and dice the flesh and skin into 2cm pieces. Place into a pan with the reserved confit garlic, reduced lamb jus and lemon thyme leaves, reduce until thick

200ml of lamb jus, reduced to 50ml
5g of lemon thyme, leaves only

7

Transfer to a blender and blitz until very smooth, then pass through a sieve. Season with yoghurt to freshen the purée up slightly

15g of yoghurt

8

For the wild garlic oil, pick and then blanch the wild garlic leaves for 3 minutes in salted boiling water. Refresh in ice water, then thoroughly squeeze out all of the excess water and dry with paper towel

200g of wild garlic leaves
salt

9

Dehydrate the wild garlic in an oven set to 50°C/122°F for 6 hours, or overnight in a dehydrator - the key to dehydrating wild garlic is to not remove it from the oven until it is completely dry

10

Once dry, place the leaves in a Thermomix blender and add the grapeseed oil. Bring the mix to 85°C/185°F, then pass through muslin cloth to extract the oil. Chill in a bowl set over ice

200ml of grapeseed oil

11

Preheat the oven to 170°C/338°F/gas mark 3.5

12

For the onion powder, roast the onions with the skin on until very soft. Remove the flesh, finely slice and dry in the dehydrator until crispy and golden brown. Allow to chill, then blitz into a powder

2 Spanish onions, skin-on

13

Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F/gas mark 3

14

For the caramelised Roscoff onions, place the onions in a bowl and season with olive oil, salt, pepper and Demerara sugar. Place onto the wire rack of a baking tray and roast in the oven until cooked through

6 Roscoff onions, skin-on
20g of Demerara sugar
olive oil
salt
pepper

15

Remove from the oven, allow to cool and cut into quarters through the centre of each stalk, keeping the skin on. Add a knob of butter and a dash of oil to a pan and place over a medium heat. Once the butter starts to foam, caramelise the onions in the pan, then remove and discard the skin

1 knob of butter
olive oil

16

To prepare the hung yoghurt, place the yoghurt in a muslin cloth bag and suspend over a bowl to remove the excess liquid. Once sufficiently drained, season with Maldon salt and pepper

85g of yoghurt
sea salt, Maldon
pepper

17

For the baby onion hearts and petals, cut the baby onion shells in half and season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Burn the onions in a hot, dry frying pan, then break into individual petals, reserving the hearts

16 baby onions
olive oil
salt
pepper

18

For the onion marmalade, place all of the ingredients in a pan and cook down until sticky. Allow to cool, then season to taste and chill

300g of white onion, peeled and finely sliced
60ml of white wine vinegar
60g of sugar
600ml of water
1 bay leaf
1/2 bunch of thyme, wrapped in muslin
salt
pepper

19

Preheat the oven to 180°C/355˚F/gas mark 4

20

Place a non-stick pan over a medium-high heat, render down the fat on the lamb loins until golden brown and crispy, then turn to caramelise the rest of the flesh

21

Lay the reserved skin in a roasting tin and place the loins on top. Roast in the oven for 5-7 minutes (how long you cook the loins for should depend on their size) so that they are still pink in the middle. Remove from the oven (leaving the oven on) and rest at room temperature until ready to plate

22

Meanwhile, warm the smoked aubergine purée, onion marmalade and lamb jus in separate pans. Heat the Roscoff onion quarters and baby onions in the oven and cut the lamb loins in half, giving you 4 equal pieces

23

Colour the lamb belly portions in a hot pan with a little oil until golden brown all over

oil

24

Spoon the aubergine purée onto each plate and swipe. Place a small spoonful of the hung yoghurt in the middle of each swipe, then top with lamb loin and arrange the Roscoff and baby onions around the loin

25

Add a small spoonful of onion marmalade and plate the lamb belly pieces. Drizzle some of the lamb jus around each plate, followed by some wild garlic oil and a good pinch of the onion powder. Garnish with some foraged, seasonal herbs (optional) before serving

lamb jus
wild garlic leaves
wild garlic flowers

Lamb, smoked aubergine, yoghurt and onions

Ingredients

Lamb loin

Lamb belly

Confit garlic

Smoked aubergine purée

Wild garlic oil

Onion powder

Caramelised Roscoff onions

Hung yoghurt

Baby onion hearts and petals

Onion marmalade

To serve

Method