Mint & Redcurrant Lamb

Just in case you haven't decided what to cook on Sunday. I think this is actually my favourite recipe from the book. There, I said it. 

 MINT & REDCURRANT LAMB WITH BEANS

We all have people who have been an inspiration to us and mine is Milla. She was the catalyst to my love of cooking and together we can paw over cookbooks and discuss restaurants late into the night. It was one such session in Norfolk that we developed this recipe. The redcurrant jelly slowly melts and fresh mint lightens the lamb. One note before you begin, it may seem like a lot of beans but trust us, the quantities compliment each other.

Serves  6

Prep Time – 20 minutes

Cook Time – 2 hours

INGREDIENTS

1 leg of lamb 1.7-2kg

4 cloves of garlic, peeled but kept whole

1 good sprig of rosemary

2 tbsp sunflower oil

125g redcurrant jelly, warmed

2 x 400g flageolet beans, drained and washed

3-4 large courgettes, halved lengthways and chopped into 1cm crescents

400g cherry tomatoes

200ml vegetable stock

2 heaped tbsp mint, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS

1/ Preheat your oven to 200C, fan 180C, gas 6.

2/ Make incisions all over your lamb by poking the tip of a knife through the skin. Rub the lamb all over with the garlic and then poke halved cloves and rosemary tufts into the incisions like your planting cuttings in the garden.

3/ Place in a deep roasting tin and drizzle over the olive oil. Roast for 1 hour. The lamb should be just starting to turn golden.

4/ Reduce the oven temperature to 180C, fan 160C, gas 4.

5/ Chop the mint and combine with the beans, redcurrant jelly, cherry tomatoes, sliced courgettes and stock. Season enthusiastically. Spoon around the lamb until the leg is in a sea of beans.

6/ Return to the oven for 1 hour or until the lamb is cooked as you wish (allow 20 minutes per 500g/1 lb 2oz). Remove the lamb from the beans and allow the meat to come to for 10 minutes before carving.

7/ This is the moment that you can add a little more stock to the beans if you think it’s needed. Season and spoon onto hot plates with a good hunk of lamb.

Tip - I quite like a little more fresh mint stirred through the beans just before serving. 

 Take One Pot by Georgina Fuggle is published by Kyle Books, priced £14.99. 

Photography by Tara Fisher.