Roast loin of lamb stuffed with walnut and parsley pesto on butter bean mash
This dish was chosen by students to be made for Ballymaloe's Students' Pop-Up Dinner
SERVES
4
PEOPLE
Ingredients
Lamb loin, 8 chops
freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves of garlic
For the walnut and parsley pesto
4 tsp walnuts
4 tsp hazelnuts
1 tin Ortiz anchovies (oil and fish)
10 sprigs of parsley, stem and leaves
Handful of green carrot tops
3 cloves of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil (to loosen the thick paste)
30g Parmesan
Butter Bean Mash (see recipe)
Charred Courgettes (see recipe)
Roast Aubergines (see recipe)
fresh mint leaves, to garnish
Method
Add all pesto ingredients except the Parmesan to a blender and blend to a loose mix with still some texture from the nuts. Fold in the Parmesan and taste. It should be quite punchy; the garlic flavour will mellow in cooking.
To prepare lamb loin, trim the outer fat layer to no more than ½cm. Lay fat-side-down on a board. Season with freshly ground black pepper, then spread the pesto evenly over the meat. Begin rolling so the fat layer will be on the outside. Tie using a butchers knot in five or six positions along the roast and one going the full length of the roast.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.
Heat a rectangular grill pan over medium-high heat. Brown the meat on all sides. Transfer to a roasting tin/baking dish with the 3 cloves of garlic. The sides of the roasting tin/baking dish at least 2.5cm high and cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 140°C/Gas Mark 1 and continue to cook for a further 25-35 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 63-67°C using a meat thermometer.
Allow to rest for 20 minutes before carving into 1cm rounds for serving. Transfer the pan juices to a jug to separate the fat (remove the fat from the top), reduce the jus in a pan to intensify the flavour adding a little chicken stock, keep the jus hot until ready to serve.
To serve, spoon some butter bean mash on the centre of the plate, top with the charred courgette, roast aubergine with tahini yoghurt and sliced lamb. Drizzle with the jus and garnish with some fresh mint leaves.
