Rack of Lamb Recipe - Great British Chefs

Main
medium
4
1 hour 30 minutes, plus 12 hours for the lamb jus

PT1H30M

PT12H

This muscular dish from Francesco Mazzei epitomises nose-to-tail eating, pairing a rack of lamb with its sweetbreads and kidneys. Broad beans, peas, tomatoes and watercress make lovely summery accompaniments but feel free to adapt this recipe to suit other seasons.

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Ingredients

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Metric

Imperial

Rack of lamb

Kidneys

4 lamb kidneys, cleaned and deveined
salt
pepper
1 dash of olive oil

Sweetbreads

200g of lamb sweetbreads
1000ml of milk
salt
pepper

Lamb jus

2kg lamb bones
200g of shallots, finely diced
1 bulb of garlic, halved
30g of rosemary
30g of thyme
500ml of red wine
1 tbsp of tomato paste

Vegetables

100g of baby turnip, trimmed
60g of spring onions
1 fennel bulb, 200g in weight, cut into 8 wedges
8 baby grape tomatoes, 4 red, 4 yellow
200g of broad beans
200g of peas, fresh
salt
1 dash of olive oil

Potatoes

To serve

80g of watercress

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Chinois

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4

To start the dish, make the sauce. Heat a heavy-based saucepan or casserole dish over a medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook until golden in colour. Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme and wine, and reduce until the pan is almost dry

200g of shallots, finely diced
1 bulb of garlic, halved
30g of rosemary
30g of thyme
500ml of red wine

Meanwhile, roast the lamb bones in the oven for 30 minutes. Once browned, add to the casserole dish, followed by the tomato paste and enough cold water to cover. Bring to a simmer for 12 hours, removing any scum that floats to the surface

2kg lamb bones
1 tbsp of tomato paste

Remove from the heat, allow to cool and pass through a fine strainer into a clean pan

To prepare the sweetbreads, add to a pan with the cold milk and bring to the boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat immediately and allow to cool in the liquid. Drain, pat dry and cut into bite-size pieces. Refrigerate until required

200g of lamb sweetbreads
1000ml of milk

Peel the potatoes and use a pastry cutter to form into 4 discs, 4cm in diameter x 2-3cm high. Place into a large pan with cold water and a generous amount of salt. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until tender and still slightly firm in the centre. Remove from the heat, drain and allow to steam for a few minutes

Melt a large knob of butter in a hot pan and once foaming add the potatoes and cook until golden brown on both sides. Set aside and keep warm

butter

To prepare the vegetables, blanch the baby turnips, spring onion and fennel separately for 2 minutes each in salted boiling water. Repeat with the tomatoes for 30-60 seconds. Drain well and sear all of the vegetables on the plancha or in a hot pan with a dash of olive oil and seasoning of salt

100g of baby turnip, trimmed
60g of spring onions
1 fennel bulb, 200g in weight, cut into 8 wedges
salt
1 dash of olive oil
8 baby grape tomatoes, 4 red, 4 yellow

In a separate pan, cook the broad beans and peas in salted boiling water, then drain and refresh in iced water. Peel the shells from the broad beans and reheat with the other vegetables before serving

200g of broad beans
200g of peas, fresh

Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5

Temper the rack of lamb by leaving out at room temperature for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and sear in a hot ovenproof pan, fat-side down first, until golden brown all over. Place in the oven for 8-10 minutes, then remove and allow to rest for 4-5 minutes

Meanwhile, season the kidneys with salt and pepper and sear on a hot plancha or pan with a little oil. Remove and allow to rest. Season the semi-cooked sweetbreads and sear on the plancha until golden, then remove and keep warm

4 lamb kidneys, cleaned and deveined
salt
pepper
1 dash of olive oil
salt
pepper

To serve, cut the lamb kidneys in half and neatly arrange the vegetables on to plates. Carve the lamb rack and arrange cutlets on the plates with the kidneys, sweetbreads and some hot lamb jus. Garnish with watercress and serve immediately