Roast Loin of Lamb with Spinach, Tomato and Basil Sauce by Nick Nairn

Nick Nairn will be hosting a Great Scottish Chefs weekend on November 11-13 at the Nick Nairn Cook School, where Roy Brett of Ondine, Jamie Scott of The Newport and Michael Smith of Loch Bay will be sharing some of their top culinary tips.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the lamb:

2tbsp olive oil

4 x 140g loins of lamb (ask butcher for trimmings and bones)

Maldon sea salt

Ground black pepper

30g unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, bruised, skin on

For the spinach:

300g spinach leaves

4tbsp olive oil

Maldon sea salt

ground black pepper

For the sauce:

1 tbsp sunflower oil

100g lamb trimmings

10g unsalted butter

2 shallots, sliced

3-4 chestnut mushrooms, sliced

8-10 cloves garlic, halved, skin on

1 bay leaf

1 sprig thyme

ground black pepper

2tsp tomato puree

1tbsp tomato pulp from concassé (below)

100ml red wine

300g lamb bones, roasted

500ml chicken & beef stock (or 400ml of each, reduced down by half)

½tbsp arrowroot

4 large basil leaves, chopped

2 tomatoes, concassé (skinned, deseeded and chopped into small squares)

1tsp redcurrant jelly

Method

1 First make the sauce. Heat a large frying pan, add sunflower oil and the lamb trimmings and brown. Add butter, shallots, mushrooms, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and black pepper and fry until well coloured. Stir in tomato puree.

2 Add tomato pulp and reduce, stirring, until the pan is almost dry. Add wine and deglaze the pan. Reduce over a high heat until most of the liquid has gone.

3 Add the roasted bones and stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer very gently until reduced and well flavoured; 45 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Add the arrowroot and stir well.

4 To serve, reheat the sauce but don’t boil; finally add the basil, tomato concassé and redcurrant jelly.

5 Preheat the oven to 200C.

6 Heat an ovenproof frying pan; add 2tbsp of olive oil. Season the lamb with salt and pepper and sear all over, then add butter and garlic. When the butter is foaming, baste the lamb with the pan juices. Place in the oven for 3-5 minutes, depending on how pink you like your lamb.

7 Rest the meat for at least 6 minutes before serving.

8 Place a large frying pan over a high heat, add olive oil and stir fry the spinach quickly until just wilted.

9 Plate up and serve with your favourite potatoes.

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