Lamb with dauphinoise potatoes and greens
Rick Stein serves his rack of lamb with a velvety red wine and redcurrant jelly sauce, quick dauphinoise potatoes and buttered, herby beans.
Ingredients
For the summer vegetable melange
- 200g/7oz frozen broad beans, defrosted
- 15²µ/½´Ç³ú butter
- 1 banana shallot, finely chopped
- 400g/14oz tin flageolet beans, drained and rinsed
- 100g/3½oz frozen peas, defrosted
- small handful fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
- small handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the dauphinoise
- 900g/2lb floury potatoes, such as Maris Pipers, peeled
- 15²µ/½´Ç³ú butter, for greasing
- 300³¾±ô/½±è³Ù double cream
- 300³¾±ô/½±è³Ù whole milk
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- freshly grated nutmeg
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the lamb
- 2 x 8-bone racks of lamb
- 2 tbsp oil
- 100ml/3½fl oz red wine or port
- 1 tsp redcurrant jelly
- 200ml/7fl oz lamb or beef stock
- knob of butter
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Start by making the summer vegetable melange. Remove the greyish outer skins from the broad beans. Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the beans, then drain and set aside.
Heat the butter in a pan over a medium heat and gently fry the shallot until soft. Add the flageolets, broad beans and peas and cook for a few minutes until the vegetables are softened but still have some bite and texture. Season with salt and pepper and stir through the herbs. Set aside.
Next, prepare the dauphinoise. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Slice the potatoes very thinly by hand or using a mandolin or food processor. Lightly butter a 1.5 litre/2½ pint shallow ovenproof dish.
Put the cream, milk and garlic in a large non-stick saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Add the sliced potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring them very gently now and then so as not to break up the slices. They are ready when they are just tender when pierced with the tip of a small, sharp knife.
Season with freshly grated nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon everything into the buttered dish, overlapping the top layer of potatoes neatly if you wish. Set aside while you prepare the lamb.
Season the lamb all over with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the lamb all over.
Transfer the meat to a roasting tin, put in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes for pink lamb or 20 minutes for medium lamb. At the same time, bake the dauphinoise in the oven for 20–25 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
Leave the potatoes to stand for 5–10 minutes before cutting and serving. Meanwhile, cover the lamb with foil and leave to rest for 5 minutes before carving the racks into individual cutlets.
Put the roasting tin on the hob, add the wine or port and bring to the boil. Add the redcurrant jelly and stock, then season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and stir while the sauce reduces a little, then swirl in the butter. Add any juices from carving and serve with the lamb, dauphinoise potatoes and summer vegetable melange.
