Easy no Peasy........

I had one of those days yesterday when my creative juices just weren't flowing. I was feeling lethargic and completely uninspired. That was until I saw that my expectant darling lady was feeling a little pensive so I thought what better way to cheer somebody up than to cook them something delightful.

Even then it was difficult to come up with something inspired. I was always going to use lamb as I know that is her favourite but I really struggled to come up with something to go with it that was healthy and especially light (It had been a nice warm day so anything too rich would have been just too much) but at the same time tasty and filling.

I really wanted to use asparagus as again I know she is very fond of it but even after wandering around my local supermarket for a good hour I just couldn't get my head around any combination of lamb and asparagus (however I will in future) so instead I thought back to a dish I'd had a while back at Jamie's Italian in Reading.

That time it was lamb with lentils and herbs. It was very nice however I thought it was a bit too over herbed and even though the lentils gave it some texture I didn't think there was enough variation. I also felt that it was a bit dry to taste and appearance wise it lacked a bit of colour so my remit then became to not only create something I knew Carley would love but also to improve on what I'd had previously..........I think it worked :-)


Herbed rack of lamb with lentils and wild rice

Serves 2 people as a main summertime course (approx 30 mins cooking time)

Shopping List & preparation -

1 x Rack of french trimmed lamb. If it's not trimmed (bones cleaned and visible) then get the butcher to do this for you.
1 x Small Onion, finely chopped.
2 x Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped.
4 x Strands of saffron.
2 x Tomatoes, quartered, seeds removed and flesh diced into small squares.
2 x Handfuls of small green lentils. (Puy lentils will work too)
2 x Handfuls of mixed basmati and wild rice. (sold together in a packet)
1 x Bunch of mint, finely chopped or chiffonade.
1 x Tablespoon of dried oregano.
1 x Teaspoon of garam masalla.
1 x Juice of half a lime.
75g x Unsalted butter (about 1/4 of a block cut into smaller cubes)
500ml of light vegetable stock. (double diluted stock cube will work)
Small tub of greek yoghurt.
Olive Oil. (standard oil not extra virgin)
Milled Sea Salt.
Milled Black Pepper.

Method -

1, Preheat oven and oven dish (enough to hold the lamb) to 140C/275F
2, Mix together half the mint and half the oregano with a good glug of Olive Oil
3, Season the lamb with salt and pepper then rub the flesh over with the oil mixture and the lime juice, set aside to marinade of a few minutes. (longer if you have time)
4, In a frying/sauté pan over a pretty low heat add half the butter and let it reached foaming point before adding in a glug of olive oil.
5, Take the marinated lamb and fry in the pan all over until it takes on a bit of colour. Do not be tempted to increase the heat too much as you'll begin to burn the herbs in the marinade and that will add a bitter taste to the finished dish.
6, Place the lamb into the oven.
7, Using the same pan and oil tip in the chopped onions, garlic and garam masalla then let these soften down for a minute or two stirring often.
8, Tip in both the lentils and the rice stirring to ensure that each pulse and grain gets a good coating of the oil mixture.
9, Add the tomatoes, remaining oregano, saffron and mint (leaving a little of the mint for garnish) and stir until combined.
10, Pour in some of the stock, enough to just cover the contents of the pan and let it bubble away adding stock a bit at a time until the lentils and rice are cooked through but do not overcook.
11, Remove the lamb from the oven and set aside to rest for a minute or two.
12, Season the lentils with salt and pepper to your taste then stir in a cube of two of the remaining butter to slightly enrichen then remaining juices.

To serve spoon equal amounts of the lentils and rice onto the centre of your serving dishes, carve the rack of lamb between each bone into individual cutlets and place on top. Sprinkle over the remaining mint and place a tablespoon of the yoghurt onto each dish (a quenelle just to one side looks good)

So where do I think this improved on the dish I mentioned?.......Well

Using less herbs is probably most significant but adding just a hint of spice from the garam masalla and saffron gives it more complex and admittedly curious depth.

Whereas the recipe from Jamie's Italian was very heavy on the use of rosemary I've substituted that for mint which apart from taking it down a more Greek route makes it lighter and more summery on the palate.

Mixing the lentils with basmati and wild rice gives that part of the dish more interesting textures as do the tomatoes which also add colour.

Leaving stock in the lentils rather than them absorbing it all creates a sauce when combined with the butter and of course the saffron gives the sauce a golden appearance again making the dish more pleasing on the eye, especially when served on a white dish.

Taking a piece of each component (Lamb, lentils, sauce and yoghurt) in the mouth brings all these flavours together into something that I think works very well indeed.

Give it a try and let me know what you think....even better still try your own variations :-)

Toodlepip xxx