To celebrate the start of Love Lamb Week (1st – 7th September) here’s a recipe from acclaimed Welsh chef (MasterChef star), Tom Simmons.
Welsh lamb cannon, dauphinoise potatoes, peas, girolles, lamb & mint jus
Serves 4
Cooking time 1 hour (plus four hours marinating)
1 whole Welsh lamb cannon (cleaned & trimmed) – marinate for 4 hours in olive oil, mint, garlic, lemon zest & chopped anchovies.
For the dauphinoise potatoes
- 400g of Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and finely sliced
- 200ml of double cream
- 2 sprigs of thyme (picked)
- 300g lamb shoulder, slow cooked and pulled
- 300ml of whole milk
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- salt
- pepper
To assemble the dauphinoise, line a baking dish with butter. Lay finely sliced potato, overlapping by 1 cm. After 3 to 4 layers of potato, season with salt & pepper. Once you have reached half way up the baking dish with potato, add a layer of the slow cooked lamb and then continue to lay slices of potato until you have reached the top of the baking dish. Bring double cream, milk, garlic & thyme to the boil and remove from heat. Allow to infuse for 10 minutes. Remove garlic & thyme and pour liquid over the potatoes. Cover with parchment paper and foil and bake for approx. 40 minutes on 160c or until a knife goes through the potatoes easily.
For the pea puree
- 400g petit pois
- 100ml brown chicken stock
- 100g butter (salted)
Bring chicken stock and butter to the boil, once boiled, place peas in a blender and slowly add the chicken stock whilst blending. Once smooth, pass through a fine mesh sieve, season to taste.
For the girolle & fresh pea mix
- 200g fresh baby girolles, cleaned
- 100g fresh garden peas, blanched
- 1 tbsp salted butter
- 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
For the lamb & mint jus
- 2 ltr brown lamb stock
- 350ml white wine
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 whole star anise
- 2 x sprigs thyme
- 2 x garlic cloves
- 250g lamb trim (any lamb trim for a butcher will do)
- 10 mint leaves finely chopped
Brown off lamb trim in a hot pan, once coloured add the tomato puree and cook for a further 30 seconds (being careful not to burn the puree). Add white wine, star anise, thyme & garlic and boil until wine is reduced by half. Add lamb stock and reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Strain through a fine sieve and reserve until needed. Add finely chopped mint just before serving.
To serve
Remove the marinade off the lamb, season with salt and pepper and seal in a hot pan. Place in over for 4 minutes on 180c for medium rare. It is vital that you let the lamb rest once out of the oven for at least 5 minutes.
Heat a small amount of rapeseed oil in a frying pan and add some cleaned baby girolles. Once soft add 1 tbsp of butter and season to taste. Finish with fresh peas and chopped parsley.
Meanwhile place a tablespoon full of the season pea puree in the middle of a plate and drag with a spoon. Add a square of the dauphinoise potato to each plate, along with a spoon of the fresh peas & girolles. Slice lamb cannon to a 2 cm width, place 3 slices on each plate. Finish with lamb jus and serve.
