Roast Lamb Rack

Ingredients:-

• 1x 8-bone quality lamb rack, untrimmed
• 150 g feta cheese
• 12 semi-dried tomatoes
• 12 black olives, pits removed
• extra virgin olive oil
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
• seasonal vegetables, for roasting

Serves 4

 

Method:-

 

Preparing your lamb rack: Remove most of the fat from the back of the rack, leaving a little bit to flavour the meat as it cooks. French-trim the bones by cutting the fat out around each bone down to the meat. Scrape the bones of all sinew and fat. Cut between the bones and through the eye of the lamb, leaving 1cm of meat still attached at the bottom. (If you’re not confident in trimming your Rack, you can buy the French Trimmed version instead). Make the stuffing: Finely chop the parsley, semi-dried tomatoes and olives and mix them together with your feta in a bowl. Add a little pepper if you need to. Put this mixture between the lamb eye meat and the bones, then fold back up. Tie tightly in about 5 places. Prepare the veg: Cut up the veg and throw into a roasting dish. You want them to cook in the same time as the lamb. Courgettes and aubergines are great, and if you’re using root veg, make sure you cut them into pieces. To make the marinade: Finely chop the rosemary and garlic, mix with a little oil and rub it all over the lamb and the fat, cover and put in the fridge for 1 hour before cooking. Preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5 and, while it’s getting hot, take your marinated lamb from the fridge. Leave it for 20 minutes or so until it comes to room temperature. Put the lamb right on top of the vegetables in your roasting dish. Put into your hot oven and roast – see cooking times below. Cooking times: A rough guide is 25 minutes for every 450g of meat, but it all depends on your oven. A good way to test for doneness is to give the meat a squeeze with your fingers. If it feels soft, it means it’s rare; if it feels very firm, it’s well done. For a nice rare lamb rack, 25 to 30 minutes is a good guide. When you’re happy with the tenderness of your lamb, remove the tray from the oven. Remove the lamb from the roasting tray and put the vegetables back in the oven. Let the lamb rest on a board for 5 to 8 minutes, then carve – aim to get two bones per person. Serve with the lovely roasted vegetables. Make a note here of how long it takes to cook your lamb, so you’ll know for next time: Rare = 20 minutes Medium Rare = 26 minutes Medium = 30 minutes Well Done 35-40 minutes

Roast Leg of Lamb

Ingredients:-

• 1 bulb garlic, 3 cloves peeled and crushed, the others left whole
• 1 small bunch fresh rosemary, half the leaves removed and coarsely chopped, half in sprigs
• zest of 1 lemon
• olive oil
• 2 kg quality leg of lamb
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1.5 kg potatoes, peeled and cut in half

·         For the mint sauce

• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 pinches salt
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 3 tablespoons wine vinegar

Serves 8

 

Method:-

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºC/gas 6 and place a roasting dish for the potatoes on the bottom. Mix the crushed garlic, chopped rosemary, lemon zest and olive oil together. Season the lamb with salt and pepper and rub the marinade into it. Place on the hot bars of the oven above the tray. Boil the potatoes, simmer for 10 minutes and scuff the edges. Add the rosemary sprigs and whole garlic cloves, season with salt and pepper and drizzle over a good lug of olive oil. Tip the potatoes into the tray and place under the lamb to catch all the lovely juices. To make the mint sauce, mix the chopped mint, sugar, salt, hot water and wine vinegar. Cook the lamb for about an hour and 10 minutes if you want it pink, or an hour and 45 minutes if you want it more well done. Take it out of the oven and cover with tinfoil and leave for 15 minutes before serving. Carve and serve with the potatoes and mint sauce. Tip: Try putting a few parsnips or carrots in with the roast potatoes.

Pork Belly Roast

Ingredients:-

 

• 1.5kg pork belly
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 red onions, halved
• 2 carrots, peeled and halved lengthways
• 2 sticks of celery, halved
• 1 bulb of garlic, skin on, broken into cloves
• 6-8 fresh bay leaves
• 600ml water or vegetable stock

Serves 4

Method:-

Preheat your oven to at least 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.

Place your pork on a clean work surface, skin-side upwards. Using a small sharp knife, make scores about a centimetre apart through the skin into the fat, but not so deep that you cut into the meat.

Rub salt into all the scores you’ve just made, pulling the skin apart a little if you have to. Brush any excess salt off the surface of the skin and turn it over. Season the underside of the meat with a little more salt and a little black pepper. Place your pork, skin side-up, in a roasting tray big enough to hold the pork and the vegetables, and place in the hot oven.

Roast for 30-40minutes until the skin of the pork has started to puff up and you can see it turning into crackling. Turn the heat down to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and roast for another 60-70 minutes. Take out of the oven and baste with the fat in the bottom of the tray.

Carefully lift the pork up and transfer to a chopping board. Add all the veg, garlic and thyme to the tray and stir them into the fat. Place the pork on top of everything and pop the tray back in the oven. Roast for another hour. By this time the meat should be meltingly soft and tender. Carefully move the meat to a serving dish, cover with tin foil and leave to rest while you make your gravy.

Spoon away any fat in the tray, then add the water or stock and place the tray on the hob. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to scrape up all those lovely sticky tasty bits on the bottom of the tray. When you’ve got a nice, dark gravy, pour it through a sieve into a bowl or gravy boat, using your spoon to really push all the goodness of the veg through the sieve. Add a little more salt and pepper if it needs it.

Serve the pork with the crackling, gravy, some creamy mashed potato, nice fresh greens and a dessert spoonfull of English mustard.

Roast Forerib of Beef with Garlic & Rosemary

Ingredients:-

• 1 x 3 kg forerib of beef (with 2 bones)
• 1 bulb of garlic, broken into cloves
• a few sprigs of rosemary, leaves picked
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil
• a knob of butter

Serves – 6

Method:-

Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/ gas 9. Take the beef out of the fridge 30-40 minutes before you want to cook it to allow it to come up to room temperature. Place a large sturdy roasting tray in the oven to heat up. Using a pestle and mortar, crush 3 garlic cloves and most of the rosemary leaves with a pinch of sea salt and a dash of olive oil, then massage all over the beef. Crush the remaining unpeeled garlic cloves and add to the hot roasting tray with the beef. Pop straight in the oven and roast for around 1 hour, basting occasionally with the juices from the tray. When the time’s up, reduce the temperature to 190°C/375°F/gas 5 for around 20 minutes, or until the beef is beautifully golden brown on the outside and pink in the middle – leave in for longer if you prefer your beef well done. Carefully transfer it to a platter, dot the knob of butter on top, then use a rosemary sprig to brush all over the meat. Cover with a double layer of tin foil and a tea towel and leave to rest. Serve the beef with the resting juices poured over the top, perfectly golden roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, dressed watercress and a good smear of horseradish.

Roast Beef Topside with Thyme and Fennel Crust

Ingredients:-

• 1.5 kg rolled beef topside, trimmed of excess fat
• 150g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 6 large fresh sprigs of thyme
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp semi-skimmed milk
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 celeriac, peeled
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled
• 4 carrots, peeled
• 300g shallots, peeled
• 100ml medium-sweet sherry, Madeira or port

Serves 4

Method:-

Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas 5. Mix the breadcrumbs and fennel seeds in a bowl with the leaves from 2 of the thyme sprigs and seasoning to taste. Sprinkle 2 tbsp of the olive oil and the milk over the crumbs and mix thoroughly with a spoon until they are moist and clump together.

Place the beef in a large, lightly oiled roasting tin and spread the meat with the mustard. Press the crumb mixture on the top of the meat, pressing it firmly all over with both hands to make a neat, firm crust. Roast for about 1¾ hours for a medium result or about 2 hours for well-cooked but juicy meat. Cover the crust loosely with a piece of foil after 1 hour, to prevent over-browning, then remove the foil for the final 5 minutes of cooking.

Meanwhile, cut the celeriac and sweet potatoes into 3.5cm chunks and place in a large bowl. Halve the carrots lengthways, then cut them across into chunky sticks. Add to the bowl with the shallots and the remaining thyme leaves and oil. Mix well.

The vegetables require about 1 hour for roasting, so put them in the oven when the beef has been cooking for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Arrange them around the meat, placing any that won’t fit in a separate roasting tin or large ovenproof dish, if necessary. Turn the vegetables and baste them once during cooking.

Remove the meat and vegetables to a warmed serving dish and cover with foil. Pour 300ml water into the roasting tin and bring to the boil on the hob, stirring and scraping up all the browned cooking residue on the bottom of the tin. Add the sherry, Madeira or port and boil steadily for 5–7 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the liquid is reduced by about half. Season to taste, then strain into a jug.

Slice the meat and serve with the roast vegetables and gravy. Any pieces of crust that break off as the meat is sliced can be divided among the plates.

Variations

*If liked, add some finely chopped garlic to the crumb mixture. Fresh oregano could be used instead of thyme. *Spread horseradish sauce over the meat in place of the mustard. *Use red wine instead of a mixture of water and sherry, Madeira or port to deglaze the roasting tin.

Chef’s tip

Calculate the cooking time for the beef at 55 minutes per 1kg, plus 45 minutes for medium, or 65 minutes per 1kg, plus 45 minutes for well-done meat that’s still juicy.

Roasted Pork Rolled Shoulder

Ingredients:-

•  1.8kg Pork Rolled Shoulder, rind on
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 red onions, halved
• 2 carrots, peeled and halved lengthways
• 2 sticks of celery, halved
• 1 bulb of garlic, skin on, broken into cloves
• 6-8 fresh bay leaves
• 600ml water or vegetable stock

Serves 4-6

Method:-

Preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.

Place your pork on a clean work surface, skin-side upwards. Get yourself a small sharp knife and make scores about a centimetre apart through the skin into the fat, but not so deep that you cut into the meat. If the joint is tied, try not to cut through the string.

Rub salt right into all the scores you’ve just made, pulling the skin apart a little if you need to. Brush any excess salt off the surface then turn it over. Season the underside of the meat with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Place your pork, skin side-up, in a roasting tray and pop in the preheated oven.

Roast for 30 minutes, until the skin of the pork has started to puff up and you can see it turning into crackling. At this point, turn the heat down to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and roast for another 30 minutes. Take out of the oven and baste with the fat in the bottom of the tray.

Carefully lift the pork up and transfer to a chopping board. Add all the veg, garlic and bay leaves to the tray and stir them into the fat. Place the pork back on top of everything and return to the oven to roast for another hour. By this time the meat should be meltingly soft and tender. Carefully move the meat to a serving dish, cover with tin foil and leave to rest while you make your gravy.

Spoon away any fat in the tray, then add the water or stock and place the tray on the hob. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to scrape up all those lovely sticky tasty bits on the bottom of the tray. When you’ve got a nice, dark gravy, pour it through a sieve into a bowl or gravy boat, using your spoon to really push all the goodness of the veg through the sieve. Add a little more salt and pepper if it needs it.

Serve the pork and crackling with your jug of gravy and some lovely roast potatoes (as a treat you can try roasting them in the fat you spooned out of your roasting tray). Some stewed red cabbage and a dollop of apple sauce will finish this off perfectly.