Monday, May 25, 2009

A new twist on an old favourite

I've been slowly working my way through a half lamb we bought straight from the producer a couple of weeks ago. Oh my, the meat is absolutely divine. If you live in one of their pick up areas, I urge you to give it a go - it's cost effective and a wonderful product. But I digress...

As you know, I'm on a wee health kick so I was looking for a roast lamb recipe that didn't involve lots of veges cooked in fat...and I found this little beauty, Anchovy and Garlic Lamb Mini Roast with Polenta. Served with broccolini, green beans and asparagus, it was a fabulously flavoursome twist on an old fave.

what you need

1 lamb mini roast (about 500g)
3 anchovies, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup red wine
¼ cup beef stock
2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
steamed green vegetables to serve

Polenta

2 cups water
½ cup polenta
25 g butter
¼ cup shredded Parmesan

what to do
  1. Preheat the oven to 220ÂșC. Combine the chopped anchovies, rosemary, parsley, garlic and oil in a small bowl. Brush over the lamb.
  2. Place the lamb on a rack in a roasting dish. Roast for 15 minutes for rare, 25 minutes for medium, or 30 minutes for well done. For ease and accuracy use a meat thermometer.
  3. Remove lamb, cover loosely, rest lamb for 10 minutes before serving. While lamb is resting remove any excess fat from the roasting dish and place the dish over a medium heat. Add the wine, stock and jelly; scrape up any residue. Bring to the boil and reduce by about one third or until mixture is syrupy.
  4. To serve cut the lamb into thickish slices, arrange on top of the polenta and drizzle with the pan sauce.
  5. To make Polenta: bring the water to the boil in a large saucepan. Add the polenta in a steady stream, beating constantly with a wooden spoon. When smooth, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often. Stir in butter and Parmesan.
Source: The Main Meal

3 comments:

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

This sounds absolutely divine and I think I just might attempt it. The hubs would probably bowl over in shock!

Barb Fisher - Hopscotch said...

Great tip on buying the lamb! Have passed the info on to the chef.

Unknown said...

Half a lamb! You're doing your bit for the farmers - atta girl.
Looks delicious too. Like the redcurrant jelly addition - great tip.