River Cottage

River Cottage head chef Tim provides the perfect marriage of flavours with this lamb dish served with green salsa and lentils

Serves 8

• 500g chard, tough stalks removed and roughly shredded
• 25g unsalted butter
• 1 whole saddle of lamb - ask your butcher to remove the ribs and spine from your saddle of lamb

For the lentils

• 250g puy lentils
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salsa verde

• 1 small garlic clove
• A good bunch of flat leaf parsley, trimmed of coarse stalks
• About 15 – 20 basil leaves
• Leaves from 3 – 4 sprigs of tarragon
• 4 – 5 anchovy fillets
• About 1 tsp capers
• About 1 tsp of Dijon or English mustard
• Pinch of sugar
• Few drops of lemon juice or vinegar
• 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5. Sweat the chard in butter and season well with salt and pepper.

2. Open up the saddle of lamb and season with salt and pepper. Place the chard down the centre of the lamb and fold in the sides, then secure the rolled lamb with string at 2.5cm intervals. Roast the lamb in for 30 minutes per 450g.

3. Rinse the lentils, put them in a pan with at least 1 litre of cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until nearly tender but still al dente, then remove from the heat and drain. Heat the oil in a pan and sweat the garlic, onion and celery in it until soft. Add the lentils and a splash of water and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes, adding the odd splash of water as necessary, until the lentils are tender and the water has been absorbed. Check the seasoning and trickle with a little extra olive oil if you like.

4. For the salsa verde, finely chop the garlic on a large chopping board. Then add the herbs, anchovies and capers and chop all together until the ingredients are well mixed and fairly fine in texture. Transfer to a bowl and mix in a little mustard, sugar, lemon juice or vinegar and black pepper, plus enough olive oil to give a glossy, spoonable consistency. As you add these last ingredients, taste and tweak the mixture till you get something you really like. This sauce is best made immediately before serving but it will keep for a few days, covered in a jar, in the fridge.

5. Allow to lamb to rest once cooked then slice and serve with the lentils and salsa verde.