Jamie's 30-Minute Meals

Spring lamb with chocolate fondue meal

Follow Jamie's step-by-step guide to make this full meal with dessert in just 30 minutes

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

For the lamb

  • 1 x 8-bone rack of lamb, fat removed
  • 1 x 2-piece pack of lamb neck fillet (approx. 250g)
  • 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • White wine vinegar
  • 300g cherry tomatoes on the vine


For the gravy

  • 4 rashers of smoked bacon
  • 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 1 heaped tbsp plain flour
  • ½ a glass of red wine


For the vegetables

  • 500g baby new potatoes
  • 250g baby carrots
  • Stalks from a bunch of fresh mint
  • 1 organic chicken stock cube
  • 200g fine beans
  • 200g runner beans
  • ½ a Savoy cabbage
  • 200g frozen peas
  • Knob of butter
  • ½ a lemon


For the mint sauce

  • Leaves from a bunch of fresh mint
  • 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp golden caster sugar


For the seasonings

  • Olive oil
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt and black pepper


For the fondue

  • 1 x 100g bar of good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
  • 100ml milk
  • 4–6 handfuls of mixed fruit, such as
  • Mango, strawberries or pineapple

Method

To start: Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Put a large frying pan and a large saucepan on a high heat. Fill and boil the kettle. Turn the oven on to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.

Lamb: Halve the rack of lamb, then season with salt & pepper and add to the frying pan with a lug of olive oil.

Vegetables: Wash the potatoes and trim the tops of the carrots. Add everything to the large saucepan with a pinch of salt. Rip the leafy tops off the bunch of mint and put aside for the mint sauce. Make sure the band is still around the stalks, then add them to the saucepan. Just cover with boiled water and crumble in the chicken stock cube. Put the lid on.

Lamb: Drizzle olive oil straight into the pack of neck fillet and season. Turn the racks of lamb then put the two neck fillets in the pan. Sear the ends of the meat and keep coming back to the pan and turning each piece so they brown all over.

Pull the leaves off 3 sprigs of rosemary and put into a pestle & mortar with a good pinch of salt & pepper. Peel the garlic, add to the mortar, and pound really well. Turn the lamb over. Add Dijon mustard to the mortar with a good couple of lugs of olive oil and a swig of white wine vinegar. Mix well.

Make sure all sides of the lamb are seared, then use tongs to transfer all of it to a roasting tray. Pour away most of the fat in the pan, then put it back on a very low heat for the gravy. Spoon the dressing from the pestle & mortar over the lamb and put the vines of cherry tomatoes on top. Move everything around until well coated in the dressing. Sprinkle with salt, then whack on the top shelf of the oven and set the timer for 14minutes for blushing to medium meat, slightly less for rare, and more for well done. Turn the racks over halfway through.

Gravy: Finely slice the bacon and put into the frying pan.

Mint sauce:
Finely chop the reserved mint leaves and add to the unwashed pestle & mortar. Pound, then add the red wine vinegar, caster sugar, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of cooking water from the veg pot. Muddle together with the pestle, have a taste to check the balance, and add a tiny splash of extra virgin olive oil. Take to the table with a spoon.

Gravy: Turn the heat under the bacon right up and add the leaves from the rosemary. Stir in the flour, red wine and a few ladles of cooking water.

Vegetables: Trim all the beans and put the runner beans through a runner bean slicer or slice at an angle, 1cm thick. Cut the Savoy cabbage half in two and click off any tatty outer leaves, then discard the stalk. Cut the cabbage into thin wedges. Add the cabbage, beans and peas to the saucepan, then stir and put the lid back on.

Lamb: Turn the lamb over. If your tomatoes are colouring too much, lean the meat on top of them.

Gravy: Stir in a spoonful of cooking water if needed.

Fondue: Smash the bar of chocolate in its wrapping then unwrap and put it into a small microwave-safe bowl with the vanilla paste or extract, a small pinch of salt and the milk. Microwave on full power for 1½ minutes, leave to rest for a few seconds and stir, then microwave for 1 more minute on full power. Meanwhile, chop all your fruit into bite-sized chunks and wedges and pile these on a platter. Take the bowl out of the microwave and stir until all the chocolate has melted, then put the bowl on the platter and take to the table.

Lamb: When the 14 minutes are up, take your lamb out of the oven and leave it to rest for a minute.

Vegetables: Drain the veg in a colander, then return them to the pan. Drizzle well with extra virgin olive oil, and add a good pinch of salt & pepper and a knob of butter. Squeeze over the juice of ½ a lemon and toss well. Tip on to a large serving platter and take to the table.

Gravy: Taste and correct the seasoning, then pour into a gravy boat and take to the table.

To serve: Cut the racks into individual chops and slice up the neck fillet. Pile on a platter. Move most of the cherry tomatoes to the platter on top of the lamb, mushing the rest into the cooking juices. Stir in a good lug of extra virgin olive oil, then drizzle over the platter and serve.

book

Recipe taken from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver © Jamie Oliver 2010. All rights reserved
Images © David Loftus

Buy the book online

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Jamie's 30-Minute Meals

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Tuesday 11 January 2011

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