Roast rack of new-season lamb with sweetbread and kidney
Ingredients (serves four)
2 racks of lamb
200g lamb's sweetbreads
4 lamb's kidneys in fat
Salt and pepper
400ml chicken stock
Flour
1 egg
50g white breadcrumbs
50ml oil
75g butter
120g fresh peas
120g peeled kidney beans
1tsp water
2tbs tarragon mustard
200ml lamb jus
Deep-frying oil
For the polenta (serves 12) 700ml water
570ml chicken stock
1 clove garlic, crushed
340g polenta
250g butter
30g Parmesan
30g mascarpone
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
For the celeriac puré (enough for about 10) 500g celeriac, diced
125g butter
Salt
Juice of half a lemon
For the onion confit (enough for about 12) 60g butter
6 large onions, finely sliced
Half-litre of red wine
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
50ml crŠme de cassis
Method
Trim racks into 4 x 180g pieces, leaving one bone in centre of each piece. Cook the sweetbreads in seasoned chicken stock, trim any fat or sinew and cut into 40g nuggets. Coat the sweetbreads in flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Seal the racks and kidneys in hot oil, add 15g of butter and roast in the oven, keeping lamb and kidneys pink.
For the polenta, boil water, stock and crushed garlic. Pass into a stainless steel bowl on top of bain-marie, rain in the polenta and cook over bain-marie for 30-40 minutes until fully cooked. Remove from heat, whisk in butter and cheeses. Season.
Oil a 1cm tray and pour in the polenta mix. Refrigerate until set. Cut into 65mm rounds and roast on top of stove in a dry, non-stick pan until golden brown on each side.
For the celeriac puré place diced celeriac, butter, seasoning and lemon juice into a vacuum-pack bag and steam for 40 minutes. Puré in food blender and pour through fine drum sieve.
For the onion confit, melt the butter in a heavy pan, add sliced onions, cover and sweat for 20 minutes. Add wine, bay leaf and seasoning. Cook gently until wine evaporates, then add crème de cassis, boil and remove from heat.
Sauté peas and broad beans in 60g butter. Season.
Place a cooked polenta disc in the centre of each plate. Spoon cooked peas and broad beans around polenta. Place a spoonful of onion confit and celeriac pur‚e on either side of the polenta. Cut the kidney in half horizontally and remove any fat or membrane. Spread a little tarragon mustard onto the cut kidneys and place on top of the onion confit.
Deep-fry sweetbreads until golden brown and place on top of the celeriac puré. Cut the racks into three and place on polenta. Sauce with lamb jus.
Photos © Alan Donaldson
