Roast lamb rump with tomatoes, red onion jam and basil oil

The meat should be served medium rare to medium.

• serves

  4

• cook

  1 hour

Ingredients

4 oxheart tomatoes

100g rock salt

100ml extra virgin olive oil

cracked black pepper

¼ bunch basil

4 spring lamb rumps (120 – 150 g each)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Red onion jam

100g butter

2 large red onions, peeled and finely sliced

80ml honey

100ml dry white wine

50ml balsamic vinegar

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Pick tomatoes with a skewer, halve them and place on a bed of rock salt, skin side down. Drizzle with half the olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper. Bake in a low oven (100°C) for about 1 hour.

To make the onion jam, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add onions and cook on very low heat for 10 minutes. Add the honey and wine and cook over very low heat for about another 45 minutes. Add the vinegar and season to taste.

Chop basil and add it to the remaining olive oil, leaving it to infuse.

Preheat oven to 180°C . With a sharp knife score the fat side of the lamb rumps in a criss-cross pattern. Salt the meat and in a hot pan seal the meat: fat side down first, then the other side. Transfer to oven and cook for 8-10 minutes. Let meat rest for 5 minutes then slice it against the grain, cutting each rump into 4 pieces.

To serve, place 2 tomato halves on each plate, arrange the lamb slices over them and garnish with a tablespoon of red onion jam. Drizzle the basil-infused oil over the top.

Chef's tip: red onion jam works with fish as well as meat: try poaching fish in equal quantities of wine and stock, then serve with steamed asparagus and spoonful of onion jam finished with a drizzle of olive oil.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.