Braised lamb with chicken liver sauce

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 saddle lamb (filleted)
• sea salt
• 2–3 sprigs rosemary
• 2–3 sprigs thyme
• olive oil, plus extra to marinate
• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 bulbs baby fennel
• ½ orange, zested

Lamb jus

• lamb bone and water reduced

Lentil salad

• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• sprinkle of sea salt
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2–3 tbsp Spanish olive oil
• 2 cups green lentils (blanched not soaked)
• 2 eschallots
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp fresh coriander

Chicken liver sauce

• 2 chicken livers
• large handful basil leaves
• handful of pine nuts

Standing time 1 hour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250°C.

Season the lamb with sea salt. Scatter the rosemary and thyme on the saddle. Add a little bit of olive oil.

Heat the olive oil in fry pan and seal the lamb on one side (with the herbs on top).

Add the garlic to the pan to infuse the oil.

Transfer to the oven for about 10 minutes. Leave the meat to rest

To prepare the lentil salad, make vinaigrette with mustard, sea salt, vinegar and olive oil. Add eschallots and green lentils. Add parsley and a coriander, and set aside to macerate for at least 1 hour.

To prepare the chicken liver sauce, heat oil in a fry pan. Add the chicken livers, basil and pine nuts. Brown the outside of the livers. Transfer to a food processor and blend. Add some extra olive oil.

To make the garnish, blanch the baby fennel in boiling water (about 10 minutes). Drain. Add a little salt, olive oil and orange zest.

Cut the saddle of lamb into pieces and arrange on a plate with the fennel and lentil salad. Stir 1 tablespoon of the liver mixture into the warm lamb jus. Drizzle this over the lamb to serve.

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.