Shakey cam
So a quick disclaimer before I start this one. I have been drinking. I know. Shock.
Right with that out of the way. I thought I'd put this up because I need to remember it and I pulled a fucking blinder as I was winging this one and it came off. Plus it's complicated as fuck.
Ingredients (for 2)
For the Lamb
Lamb breast, rolled and small (like you get at the supermarket knocked down for £2)
1/2 red onion
2 carrots
4 cloves of garlic
about a large glass of red wine
1 measure of gin
1 measure of blackberry and elderflower pimms (neither this or the gin is essential but it makes a great difference)
Hand full of fresh mint and rosemary.
A slow cooker or a casserole and an oven on a low temp.
For the reduction
2 Glasses of red wine
1tsp of Blackberry (or similar dark tart fruit) jam
The other half of the red onion (please tell me you kept it)
1 clove garlic
Fresh rosemary & mint
The stock from braising the lamb (I will explain later)
For the Blue cheese Gratin
2 Large white potatoes
100ml double cream
milk
butter
flour
Creamy blue cheese (The Castello stuff is the shit)
How?!
Firstly I must acknowledge this from "The Skint Foodie" for the suggestion of braising first (and the entire basis of the recipe) http://www.theskintfoodie.com/1/post/2012/09/slow-cooked-breast-of-lamb-and-a-couple-of-bowls-of-ribs.html. Do check it out as their recipe is probably better than mine but it kicked me off.
Trim the lamb breast as much as possible. Shit is fatty and the more you get off the better. Season with salt and pepper and if you are a huge wild garlic fanboy like me your dried wild garlic that you foraged in the spring.
Chop your half an onion and the carrots roughly. You aren't going to eat them so who gives a shit what they look like. Smash the garlic cloves as well. Just smash them up. Fuck 'em.
In a casserole or your slow cooker pan (which is what I used) heat a little oil and brown off the carrots, onions and garlic. Then add the alcohol, reduce the wine first then add the fruitier spirits once the wine is mostly gone (you want to infuse the fruitiness in the braising process). Chuck your fresh herbs on top. Place the herbs on top and then rest the lamb on top of them. Braise on a high heat in the slow cooker for about 3 hours. If you have a casserole you're on your own. Experiment? Or check out the superior skintfoodie blog.
Leave for about 3 hours.
Jam out a few tunes and drink some beer.
After 3 hours take the lamb out, wrap in foil and leave it to rest. Strain the liquid through a sieve and leave it out too.
Go to the pub for an hour or 2.
When you get back heat the oven to about 200 Celsius and start skimming the fat off the liquid.
Slice the Potatoes as thin as you can (however thin you're thinking...thinner). These potatoes are hard as balls to cook so all I can recommend is precise paper thin slicing. Mine were slightly undercooked tonight and I sliced them as thin as I could until I got bored (I have adjusted the recipe to compensate).
Make a small amount of basic white sauce, about 100ml (milk, butter, flour and if you can't do that you've come to the wrong place). Add the cheese to melt into it leaving enough to top it and gradually add the cream while whisking. Leave a little cream.
Place the potatoes in a small oven dish in layers, adding enough sauce to cover each layer. When you get to the top layer cover in cream and the left over cheese. Put it in the oven, it will take longer than you think to cook.
After about 30 minutes put the lamb (still wrapped in foil) in the oven. It will need about 2 hours in total. After about 45mins open the foil partially. After an hour and a half open the foil completely.
About 20 minutes before the lamb is done you can start the reduction. You need about half the mint and rosemary you used for the braising of the lamb for this. Chop the herbs and the onion as fine as you possibly can. Heat oil in a deep frying pan and soften. Add the wine and allow it to reduce. Add the stock gradually to maintain the viscosity of the reduction. Stir in the jam to sweeten and add thickness (I know, its a delicate balancing act). You should end up with a thick and yet runny sauce with a deep red, almost purple colour. The best description I can offer at this time is like a dipping sauce. It's hard to describe how to make a wine reduction when drinking 12 Y/O McCallan at 1am.
Right in the middle of making the reduction (about 10 mins before you're done) take the lamb out to rest. Take the potatoes out right before serving. They should be browning on top but not burnt. If they are that's your fault you should have been paying attention you fucking windsock.
Carve the lamb into slices about an inch thick and serve with the reduction on top.
No I was't sober when I took this asshole.
The beauty of this is lamb breast is the cheapest cut of lamb and if you buy smart the whole meal works as a classy meal for 2 for less that a fiver. So fuck off Marks & Spencer.
You quims...
