Chef Paul Morgan of Surrey pub the Hampshire Arms - a finalist in the Food & Drink Chef of the Year competition - puts together some stunning suggestions.
Belly of Lamb coated in basil mousse with herb crust - accompanied by pan-fried lamb's kidney, olive mash and tians of ratatouille Serves 2
Ingredients: Belly of lamb Basil mousse Breadcrumbs Salt and pepper olive mash for two ratatouille for two Lamb's kidney Pig's caul To serve: A sprig of rosemary
Method: Take the belly of lamb off the bone and trim any excess fat, ensuring that the skin is removed. Roll the belly of lamb lengthways very tightly and wrap in clingfilm to retain its shape and then twist each end to form a sausage. Tie along its length eight times. Cook for an hour at 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2 or in a combi-oven at 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 with part steam. While this is cooking, make up a basil mousse. When the belly of lamb has cooked, allow it to cool and, when cold, spread with the basil mousse until the lamb is completely covered. Then roll in herbed breadcrumbs. Wrap the lamb in the pig's caul and then wrap again in clingfilm until ready to serve.
Place the lamb in the oven in the clingfilm in order to retain the moisture. Cook the kidneys until pink and heat the olive mash. Create three towers of ratatouille around the plate and pipe the mash slightly off-centre with the cooked kidneys alongside. Remove the lamb from the clingfilm when ready and rested. Cut the top off at an angle and stand next to the mash and kidneys with a sprig of rosemary and a deepfried basil leaf atop each ratatouille tower. Serve with a sauce flavoured with basil.
A perfect match
Steven Docherty is chef/patron at the Punch Bowl Inn, Crosthwaite, Cumbria.
Goat's cheese and beetroot is a marriage made in heaven. If you don't want to be bothered with pastry, you could just put the goat's cheese on warm circles of toasted bread.
Salad of Baked Goat's Cheese with Roast Beetroot and a Walnut Oil Dressing Serves 4
Ingredients: 2 medium beetroot 50g/2oz unsalted butter - melted 2 sheets filo pastry (Steven likes to use Jus-rol) Goat's cheese log - rind scraped off and cut into 4x2cm/1in slices Black pepper Olive oil 24 button onions - peeled A little peanut oil Generous handful of frisée, watercress or lamb's lettuce 1 tbsp walnut oil dressing (see recipe, right)
Method: Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/ gas-mark 6. Scrub the beetroots, wrap tightly in aluminium foil and bake for two hours, or until tender. Leave to cool, then peel and cut into thick wedges. (The beetroots are best baked a day ahead - they will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator). Brush the melted butter on a sheet of filo pastry and lay the other sheet on top. Cut out four 7cm/3in circles, place them on a greased baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about five minutes, until golden brown.
Now turn up the oven to 240°C/475°F/Gas mark 9. Put the goat's cheese on top of the pastry, season with freshly-ground black pepper, drizzle with olive oil and bake in the very hot oven, or under a hot grill, for about five minutes, until the cheese is golden and melting. Place the beetroot wedges on a baking sheet, pour on a little olive oil and season with black pepper, then roast for five minutes. Meanwhile, fry the onions in the peanut oil until they are golden on the outside and tender in the middle.
Toss the watercress, lamb's lettuce or frisée with the walnut oil dressing (see right) and arrange on four plates or in deep bowls. Place the goat's cheese pastry on top and arrange the beetroot and onions around it.
Walnut Oil Dressing
Ingredients: 1 tsp Dijon mustard Salt and pepper 1 tbsp walnut oil 3 tbsp sunflower oil 2 tsp white wine vinegar
Method: Whisk the mustard with the salt and pepper in a medium-sized bowl. Gradually add the oils and wine vinegar, whisking continuously until combined.
Customers enjoy!
A winning formula Nick Foster is head chef at the Drunken Duck in Ambleside, Cumbria.
This recipe was his winning dish in the recent Food & Drink Chefs of the Year competition. Many of the ingredients used in this recipe are locally sourced. Nick's lamb comes from farmer Eric Taylforth of Millbeck Farm, in Little Langdale, Cumbria, and the goat's cheese from Thornby Moor Dairy, Thursby, Cumbria.
Rack of Herdwick shearling lamb with roast onion, watercress mash, dauphinoise parsnip and redcurrant glaze
Ingredients: 1 rack Herdwick shearling 2 sprigs of rosemary (1 for the garnish, the other for the garlic) 1 clove of garlic 2 quarters of red onion 40g/11/2oz clarified butter Salt and pepper to season For the parsnip dauphinoise 2 parsnips - peeled and diced into 1cm cubes 150ml/1/4pint double cream 1 tsp wholegrain mustard 1 garlic clove 1 pinch ground nutmeg 1 goat's cheese stumpie Salt and black pepper For the watercress mash 2 Maris Piper potatoes 25g/1oz butter Splash of double cream Pinch ground nutmeg Salt and black pepper 100g/31/2oz watercress (puréed with a pestle and mortar) Redcurrant glaze 150ml/1/4 pint quality lamb stock 150ml/1/4 pint Rioja 1 tsp redcurrant jelly
Method: Score the lamb fat and rub the garlic and rosemary into the skin. Season well, with salt and black pepper. Place the lamb, fatty side down, in a frying pan containing the heated clarified butter. Add the red onion quarters, brown and then transfer to a roasting tray and roast at 225°C/ 425°F/gas-mark 7 for 15 to 20 mins until medium rare. Remove from the heat and rest for five minutes.
For the parsnip dauphinoise, put the diced parsnips, cream, garlic and nutmeg in a pan. Simmer on a medium heat until parsnips are tender and the cream has reduced to a thick texture. Add the wholegrain mustard and crumble in the goat's cheese. To make the watercress mash, boil the potatoes until tender, drain well and mash with cream, butter and seasoning. Stir in the watercress purée. For the redcurrant glaze, reduce the lamb stock and wine in a saucepan and whisk in the redcurrant jelly.