Part 2 - Main Course......

Yesterday I gave you part one of the easy seasonal dinner party menu and today I give you the main course, again it's very easy to do, it takes little effort but gives a great result.


I'm using Lamb which we're told is best at this time of year but as renowned chef Paul Clerehugh will tell you however this is not necessarily true. The notion of British spring lamb is really just a bit of a marketing ploy originally intended to push the sales of New Zealand lamb in the UK because for a Lamb to be ready to eat in spring it needs to have been born in November.

Anybody with even the slightest knowledge of seasonal Britain will be all too aware that weather conditions in November really do not tend to produce the lush green fields necessary for good grazing. Around the end of March is when most lambing occurs so in fact the ideal time to really be eating British lamb is around September or October when they have had a whole summer of lush vegetation to eat rather than being bred mainly indoors and fed on protein pellets which only diminishes the flavour and texture.

Nevertheless good lamb can be found but you need to be picky. Don't go for the cheapest you see on the shelf. Look for something with pedigree and preferably organic. Better still go to your nearest specialist butcher rather than the supermarket.

My defence for calling this a seasonal dish comes from this public perception of spring lamb and because the flavour of lamb really does lend itself to a warm sunny day especially when using rack of lamb which I do in this dish.

It comprises of three elements and I'm starting with the lamb element but you could easily prepare the vegetable and broth parts in advance because they only need re-heating prior to plating up.

Like I keep stressing this whole menu requires very little cooking on the day which leaves you to be the stress free and cool as a cucumber host that makes other people jealous.

Rack of Lamb with summer vegetables and lamb broth

Serves 4

For the lamb -

2 x Rack of lamb
Unsalted butter
Olive oil
Dried thyme
Salt & Black Pepper


1. French trim the lamb (video) and cut each rack in half leaving 4 joints with equal amounts of meat, usually works out at 3 or 4 cutlets per person. Season each half rack all over with some salt and pepper.

(If you think there is too much fat on the topside of the meat then shave some off with a sharp knife. Some of the fat will render off when cooking but anything more than about 5 millimetres won't be pleasant when eating)

2. Set the oven to 140C/285F to preheat then take a frying pan and put on the hob over a medium heat. Add in a good knob of butter and a glug of olive oil and let this melt down until the butter/oil mixture starts to bubble.

3. Brown off the lamb on all sides in the butter so it they have a nice uniform colour all over then transfer to an roasting tin.

4. Before putting in the oven sprinkle over some of the dried thyme then place in the middle of the oven. It'll take around 20 minutes for the lamb to cook rare and around 25 minutes for medium which is what I would recommend. It's important to let the lamb rest for at least 5 minutes (preferrably 10) before carving into individual cutlets.




Summer Vegetables

400g x Jersey royal potatoes
300g x Asparagus
200g x Shelled fresh peas
200g x Fresh Broad Beans (skinned)
1 x Bowl of iced water





1. Wash all the vegetables under cold running water then boil the potatoes until they are tender then drain and transfer to bowl of iced water.

2. Put the peas and broad beans into a saucepan of water and bring to the boil. While they are boiling remove the woody root ends from the asparagus by holding them lightly at each end and bending them until they snap (discard the woody bits). Cut off the whole of the tips then slice the remaining stems into 1/2 inch thick pieces before adding to the pan of peas and broad beans.

3. Boil the vegetable for a further 3 minutes then drain and tip into the iced water bowl along with the potatoes. This halts the cooking process as well as keeps the brightness of colour.

As I mentioned before this can be done a few hours in advance because the final process before serving is to simply drain them off and heat them through in a frying pan over a medium heat with some butter and seasoning. (Cutting the potatoes in half before heating through is a good idea)

If you do decide to prepare them early then once they have fully cooled in the water drain them off, transfer to another bowl and toss in a little lemon juice. This will also preserve the colour of the veg.



Lamb Broth

500ml x Lamb Stock
1 x Small onion
1 x Small carrot
1 x Celery stick
1 x Clove of garlic
Fresh mint
Salt & black pepper
Olive oil



1. Heat a little olive oil in a pan over a medium heat.

2. Slice up the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and then add to the pan and allow to cook a while until the onions soften then pour in the stock and allow to simmer. There is no need to be dainty with the veg, it'll be sieved off later.

3. After a minute or two throw in around 8 or 10 chopped mint leaves. You could use dried but if you do bear in mind that dried herbs are stronger than fresh ones and for me they lack the zesty zing you get from fresh herbs.

4. Keep it simmering away making sure you taste regularly and add seasoning as you go. The stock I've pictured is from the cooks ingredients range at Waitrose. You could make your own, buy one like I have mentioned or if absolutely necessary use a stock cube or two although I find these very salty and nowhere near as good as decent liquid stock.

5. Once you are happy with the taste strain the broth through a fine sieve and either leave to cool for heating up later or keep warm until you are ready to serve.

Again presentation is up to you but because the broth is involved you will need fairly high sided serving plates and large pasta bowls would work perfectly.

Just pile up some of the warmed vegetables in the centre of the then on top of these rest your carved lamb cutlets. Finally spoon over the liquid broth. Maybe sprinkle over some finely chopped mint to garnish and there you have a wonderfully light and tasty seasonal main course.

And what do we have in tomorrows blog? Dessert of course.............

Crème caramel with dark chocolate





Yes I did have a little difficulty getting them out of the moulds but because I did I can explain why you don't have too :-)

.............toodlepip xx