I spent a wonderful day recently filming in the west at the home of Connemara Hill Lamb. Lamb that is reared in that wonderful area, with an interesting natural diet, has the best taste imaginable. They have won countless awards and this lamb is now available exclusively as part of the Simply Better range in Dunnes Stores.
This recipe is inspired by Naseem, an Indian friend of mine who loved to barbecue it. To bone the leg of lamb yourself, find the place where the long bone running down the length of the leg appears to run quite close to the surface. Split open the meat along that bone and carefully peel it back from either side. At the fatter end of the leg there is a small group of smaller bones. Continue to cut the meat away from these bones until you have completely opened up the leg and can lift them out.
For dessert you will enjoy these peach open tartlets. This recipe works with any seasonal fruit like apples, plums, apricots or pears but I think it is hard to beat with peaches – and they are in season now. The fromage frais is light and tangy. Serve with the sorbet, which can also be made by hand if you haven’t got an ice cream machine. Simply pour into a rigid plastic container and stir every 20 minutes or so to prevent large ice crystals forming until frozen. And if you haven’t the time, these days you can buy a good-quality sorbet very easily.
Butterflied lamb with spiced mint and yoghurt rub
Serves four to six
3kg (7lb) leg of lamb, boned and well trimmed, roughly 5cm (2in) thick
25g (1oz) chopped fresh mint
Juice of 2 lemons
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp mild chilli powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
4 tbsp Donegal Rapeseed oil
6 tbsp Greek strained yoghurt
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lightly dressed green salad, to serve
1 Place the lamb in a shallow non-metallic dish. Mix together the mint in a bowl with the lemon juice, garlic, ground coriander, chilli powder, ground cumin, oil, yoghurt and a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Rub all over the meat and cover with clingfilm and chill overnight or leave to stand at room temperature for two to three hours if time is short.2 Preheat the oven to 230oC (475oF/gas mark nine) or light a barbecue. If the lamb has been chilled overnight, bring it back to room temperature. If cooking in the oven, place the lamb, cut-side up on a rack in a large roasting tin and season with salt. Roast in for 15 minutes, then turn over and roast for another 10 minutes for rare. Barbecue over medium-hot coals for about 50 minutes for medium-rare lamb, turning occasionally.3 Remove the lamb from the oven or barbecue and leave to rest in a warm place for 10 minutes. If you don’t like your lamb too pink, you can cover it with foil at this point and it will continue to cook. 4 Carve into slices and arrange on plates with some salad.Peach open tartlets with fromage frais sorbet
Serves six
375g (13oz) packet ready-rolled puff pastry, thawed if frozen
6 small ripe peaches
50g (2oz) caster sugar
50g (2oz) butter
3 tbsp apricot jam
For the sorbet:
200g (7oz) caster sugar
150ml (1/4 pint) carton peach yoghurt
200g (7oz) carton fromage frais
1 To make the sorbet, place sugar in a heavy-based pan with 300ml (1/2 pint) of water and bring to the boil. Whisk in the peach yoghurt and fromage frais until well combined, then pour into an ice cream machine and churn as per manufacturer’s instructions. Place in freezer until ready to serve.2 Preheat the oven to 190oC (375oF/ gas mark five). Unroll the pastry and cut 3 x 10cm (4in) rounds from each piece, using a large cutter as a template. Prick with a fork, then place on a baking sheet lined with non-stick parchment paper. 3 Cut the peaches in half and remove the stones. Slice the peach halves very thinly and arrange on the puff pastry rounds in fan-shape layers, leaving a small border around the edge of each one so that they rise. Sprinkle evenly with the caster sugar and place a small knob of butter in the centre of each one. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. 4 Just as the peach tarts are ready, heat the apricot jam in a small pan or in the microwave. Remove the cooked tarts from the oven and quickly brush each one with a little of the jam. 5 Arrange on plates and add a scoop of the sorbet to each one before serving.
I spent a wonderful day recently filming in the west at the home of Connemara Hill Lamb. Lamb that is reared in that wonderful area, with an interesting natural diet, has the best taste imaginable. They have won countless awards and this lamb is now available exclusively as part of the Simply Better range in Dunnes Stores.
This recipe is inspired by Naseem, an Indian friend of mine who loved to barbecue it. To bone the leg of lamb yourself, find the place where the long bone running down the length of the leg appears to run quite close to the surface. Split open the meat along that bone and carefully peel it back from either side. At the fatter end of the leg there is a small group of smaller bones. Continue to cut the meat away from these bones until you have completely opened up the leg and can lift them out.
For dessert you will enjoy these peach open tartlets. This recipe works with any seasonal fruit like apples, plums, apricots or pears but I think it is hard to beat with peaches – and they are in season now. The fromage frais is light and tangy. Serve with the sorbet, which can also be made by hand if you haven’t got an ice cream machine. Simply pour into a rigid plastic container and stir every 20 minutes or so to prevent large ice crystals forming until frozen. And if you haven’t the time, these days you can buy a good-quality sorbet very easily.
Butterflied lamb with spiced mint and yoghurt rub
Serves four to six
3kg (7lb) leg of lamb, boned and well trimmed, roughly 5cm (2in) thick
25g (1oz) chopped fresh mint
Juice of 2 lemons
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp mild chilli powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
4 tbsp Donegal Rapeseed oil
6 tbsp Greek strained yoghurt
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lightly dressed green salad, to serve
1 Place the lamb in a shallow non-metallic dish. Mix together the mint in a bowl with the lemon juice, garlic, ground coriander, chilli powder, ground cumin, oil, yoghurt and a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Rub all over the meat and cover with clingfilm and chill overnight or leave to stand at room temperature for two to three hours if time is short.2 Preheat the oven to 230oC (475oF/gas mark nine) or light a barbecue. If the lamb has been chilled overnight, bring it back to room temperature. If cooking in the oven, place the lamb, cut-side up on a rack in a large roasting tin and season with salt. Roast in for 15 minutes, then turn over and roast for another 10 minutes for rare. Barbecue over medium-hot coals for about 50 minutes for medium-rare lamb, turning occasionally.3 Remove the lamb from the oven or barbecue and leave to rest in a warm place for 10 minutes. If you don’t like your lamb too pink, you can cover it with foil at this point and it will continue to cook. 4 Carve into slices and arrange on plates with some salad.Peach open tartlets with fromage frais sorbet
Serves six
375g (13oz) packet ready-rolled puff pastry, thawed if frozen
6 small ripe peaches
50g (2oz) caster sugar
50g (2oz) butter
3 tbsp apricot jam
For the sorbet:
200g (7oz) caster sugar
150ml (1/4 pint) carton peach yoghurt
200g (7oz) carton fromage frais
1 To make the sorbet, place sugar in a heavy-based pan with 300ml (1/2 pint) of water and bring to the boil. Whisk in the peach yoghurt and fromage frais until well combined, then pour into an ice cream machine and churn as per manufacturer’s instructions. Place in freezer until ready to serve.2 Preheat the oven to 190oC (375oF/ gas mark five). Unroll the pastry and cut 3 x 10cm (4in) rounds from each piece, using a large cutter as a template. Prick with a fork, then place on a baking sheet lined with non-stick parchment paper. 3 Cut the peaches in half and remove the stones. Slice the peach halves very thinly and arrange on the puff pastry rounds in fan-shape layers, leaving a small border around the edge of each one so that they rise. Sprinkle evenly with the caster sugar and place a small knob of butter in the centre of each one. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. 4 Just as the peach tarts are ready, heat the apricot jam in a small pan or in the microwave. Remove the cooked tarts from the oven and quickly brush each one with a little of the jam. 5 Arrange on plates and add a scoop of the sorbet to each one before serving. 
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