I thought I’d tried all the Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals that I wanted to, until the photo-ninja Nga commented about the spring lamb recipe… I couldn’t believe I’d missed it! So I tore off to try it.

It’s a relatively simple recipe, with seared & roasted lamb, and a big bowl of pots ‘n’ veg boiled up. But it’s a great way to multi-task without actually too much effort, and the result is dis-proportionately good. If you’re at all skittish about whether you can manage the 30 minute thing or not, give this one a whirl as it’s not too busy (I should point out that Jamie did a fondue in with his full recipe but that was simply microwaved chocolate and chopped fruit). Well worth a go.

Jamie recommends rack of lamb and neck fillet here. I find rack of lamb really hard to find now, hardly anyone stocks it and it’s very expensive when you do. Lamb chops aren’t as fancy but very tasty. A rack of lamb is a cut of meat from the rib section of a lamb. It is made up of a row of bones with meat on the top and sides. The rack of lamb is a popular choice for roasting and grilling but can be pricey.

Spring lamb, vegetable platter, mint sauce and chianti gravy

Gary @ BigSpud

A refreshing yet wholesome dinner.

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Course Main Course

Cuisine British

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

For the lamb:

• 4 lamb chops
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• White wine vinegar
• 300 g cherry tomatoes on the vine

For the gravy:

• 4 rashers smoked bacon
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon flour
• ½ glass red wine

For the veg:

• 400 g baby new potatoes
• 4 carrots
• Stalks from a bunch of mint
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 300 g fine beans
• ½ Savoy cabbage

For the mint sauce:

• ½ a lemon
• Leaves from a bunch of mint
• 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar

Instructions

 

• Get the oven on 220C, a frying pan and saucepan over high heats and get that kettle a-boilin'.
• Add some olive oil to the pan. Season the lamb all over and pop it in.
• Wash the potatoes, chop the carrots into nice chunks and add to the saucepan. Cover with boiling water and toss in the mint stalks and stock cube.
• Turn the lamb well and make sure it's browned all over. While it's finishing bash the garlic and rosemary together in a mortar and pestle. Season, add the mustard and spread the lot over the  lamb. Transfer the lamb to a roasting dish with the tomatoes and slam in the oven for 9-14 minutes until done to your liking (for me, internal temp of 55°C before resting). Keep the frying pan on the heat and add the bacon, chopped.
• Re-using the mortar from before, add the mint leaves with vinegar, sugar, pinch of salt and a splash of water from the veg pot. Mix it together for the mint sauce.
• Add the red wine to the frying pan to deglaze the pan, scraping around. Add the flour and rosemary to the gravy pan, and stir for a minute to coat everything in flour. Add a few ladles of cooking water. Cut the Savoy into thin wedges and add to the boiling pot with the beans.
• The lamb should be done about now, so get it out of the oven to rest for a minute while you sort out the veg. Once the beans are tender, drain the lot and return to the pot. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil, some salt and pepper and the juice from the lemon. Toss well and serve. Cut the lamb into chops, check the gravy for seasoning and get stuck in!

Notes

The lamb can be any cut of lamb you like that fries quick, or would work pretty well with beef steaks - though the mint sauce wouldn't work for me then. It's your dinner though!

Keyword quick