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Roast Rack & Fried Breast of Lamb with Peas & Wilted Lettuce

Effectively, this is a spin on lamb, mint and peas - the perfect roast for a sunny weekend. Ask your butcher to chine the lamb rack and French-trim the bones, and to debone the breast.

25 minutes prep, 2 hours, 50 minutes cook

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 breast of lamb, deboned

Rapeseed oil, for rubbing and frying

1 rack of lamb

A few sprigs of thyme

1 banana shallot, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

100g unsalted butter

Handful each of peas, sugar snap peas, mangetout, chopped lettuce, runner beans and broad beans

3–4 mint leaves, torn

Squeeze of lemon juice

1 egg

100ml whole milk

100g plain flour

100g panko breadcrumbs

Sea salt and black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 140°C/ Fan 120°C/Gas 2. Place the lamb breast on a baking tray, rub with a little oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 2 hours until very tender. Remove from the oven, place another baking tray on top followed by a weight such as a mortar or heavy pan and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile, increase the oven temperature to 180°C/Fan 160°C/ Gas 6. Put the lamb rack on a chopping board and score the fat to help it render down as it cooks. Season well. Place the rack, skin-side down, in an ovenproof frying pan over medium heat, along with the thyme, then turn over the lamb when the scored skin has caramelised. You want the lamb to be crisp and golden before turning it over and sealing the other side. When it’s nice and brown on both sides, transfer to the oven and roast for 15 minutes, then remove and transfer the pan to a wire rack to rest for 10 minutes.

Sauté the shallot and garlic in a large saucepan over low heat with most of the butter and a good pinch of salt for a couple of minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the peas, lettuce and beans, cover with a lid and cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring every so often. Stir in the remaining butter, the mint and a squeeze of lemon to finish. In a shallow bowl, mix together the egg and milk. Put the flour into another shallow bowl, and the breadcrumbs into a third.

Cut the chilled lamb breast into 6 strips. Dust each strip of lamb in the flour, shaking off any excess, then dip into the egg/milk and finally into the breadcrumbs. Heat a generous glug of rapeseed oil in a deep frying pan and fry the lamb pieces until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and season.

Spoon the peas and lettuce onto a platter. Carve the rack of lamb, then arrange on top of the vegetables, along with the crispy strips of lamb breast.