Oven Lamb, Potato and Garlic Purée, Confit Cherry Tomatoes

Introduction

In my family some love lamb and some hate it. Because its smell is strong and divisive, I went all out on the sauce—sweet and aromatic—enough to make even the biggest sceptic’s mouth water. With a silky potato purée with brown butter and confit tomatoes for freshness, this won’t be just an Easter footnote.

Instructions

For the meat stock:

1. The day before, make the stock: preheat the oven as hot as it goes. In a roasting dish, place the oxtail and drizzle with a little oil. Roast until deeply caramelised, 20–30 minutes, turning halfway.

2. Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat a little oil and add the carrot and onion with skin, celery and leek, all roughly chopped.

3. Let everything start to caramelise, then add the garlic cloves, crushed in their skins, and cook until a fond forms on the bottom. Add the seared meat.

4. Deglaze the roasting dish with Port, scrape up the fond and pour into the pot.

5. Cover with just enough water, add bay and thyme. Bring to the boil, then reduce to the lowest simmer. Cook 5–8 hours (I did 5). Skim foam from the surface. If it reduces too much midway, top up with water.

6. Chill overnight. The next day, lift off all the solid fat for a clear stock.

For the oven lamb:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. With a knife, scrape fat from the top of each lamb shank bone. Season the 4 pieces with salt, pepper and paprika.

2. In a very hot pan, add a little oil and sear the lamb on all sides.

3. Meanwhile, roughly chop peeled carrot and onion, celery and leek, and crush garlic in its skin. Add the vegetables to the pan and let them sweat and colour. Season and add bay, thyme and rosemary.

4. Transfer everything to a large clay pot (or an ovenproof casserole—sear in the same pot if you prefer), deglaze the pan with Port and pour the juices in.

5. Cover with meat stock; add a little water if needed. Stir in the honey.

6. Bring to the boil, cover and bake 2 hours 15 minutes. In the last half hour, if there is still a lot of liquid, raise the temperature to 230°C.

For the potato and garlic purée:

1. Cut the top off the garlic head, wrap in foil with a drizzle of oil and thyme. Roast 30–45 minutes.

2. Squeeze the cloves through a sieve into a bowl; discard skins. Reserve the garlic purée.

3. In a pan, place peeled potatoes cut in even pieces. Cover with milk and season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, rosemary and thyme.

4. Simmer until beginning to soften.

5. Turn off the heat, pass through a food mill, then beat in the roasted garlic and three-quarters of the cooking milk.

6. Make beurre noisette: melt butter in a pan until nut-brown and fragrant. Strain immediately.

7. Fold the beurre noisette into the potatoes, then beat in 2 yolks. Pass through a sieve, fold in chives and lemon zest.

For the confit tomatoes:

1. Put the cherry tomato vines in a pan or frying pan. Cover half with olive oil and half with sunflower oil. Add crushed garlic, rosemary and thyme.

2. Bring to the boil, turn off the heat and leave the vines in the oil 10–15 minutes.

To serve:

1. Lift the shanks from the pot and strain the sauce.

2. Reduce the sauce over high heat 5 minutes.

3. Spoon two generous portions of purée onto each plate. Lean a shank against it, sauce around, and add the tomatoes on the vine alongside.