FLOWER POT KITCHEN: ROASTED BREAST OF LAMB

22 Jan 2016

ROASTED BREAST OF LAMB

THE QUEEN OF ROAST DINNERS

This is even more special as it is our first own reared and loved organic lamb...

This has to one of my most favourite roast dinners of all time, I don't allow myself to eat this that often because it is so naughty, decedent and rich in glorious lip smacking crispy lamb crackling and flavoursome fat... But when I do boy oh boy it does go down very well and with roasted potato's basted by the lamb fat dripping down over the potatoes from above while the lamb is roasting just adds that extra depth of flavour and gorgeousness, accompanied with home grown peas and garden mint sauce.

Prep Time 5 minutes / Cooking Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

(serves 2)

2 large high animal welfare breasts of lamb bone in

(this you can get from your local butcher)

4 large King Edward potatoes

2 tbsp dripping or goose fat to get your potatoes going

2 portions of peas

sea salt

Garden Mint Sauce

6 sprigs mint, leaves only chopped

60ml water

30ml white wine vinegar

pinch of sugar

This is a fast and easy cook, all the work is done in a few minutes and the oven does the rest while you get to dilly dally, first peel the potatoes and cut in half, place in a pan of water and simmer for 10 minutes, drain and season with sea salt, meanwhile take a deep roasting tin that you can place a wire rack on top off (this will allow the glorious lamb fat to render down basting the potatoes while they roast), place the dripping or goose fat in the tin and pop in a pre heated oven 200 degrees C / 380 F, for a couple of minutes to heat up.

Now add your par boiled seasoned potatoes, turn the potatoes so that they have got a basic coating to get them going in the oven, next place your rack on top of the tin and lay the breast of lamb on the rack, season with sea salt and pop in the oven, this will take around 45 minutes to cook, at 30 minutes take the roasting tin our the turn the potatoes, pop back for the last 15 minutes, at this point bring a pan of water to a rolling simmer and add your peas, take off the heat and leave to heat through.

While the lamb is roasting, make the mint sauce, place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, take off the heat and leave to cool, taste and adjust the sweet or sour flavour to your taste with more vinegar or sugar then pop in the fridge to cool further,

Ta Da now serve...

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.