FOOD + DRINK
WILL FREEMAN CONT .
Will ’ s Spring lamb , wild garlic pesto , aged pearl barley , anchovy and radish
Prep time : 10 minutes ( two days prior if you want to use fermented foods ) Cook time : 40-45 minutes Serves : 3-4
Ingredients :
• 1 lamb loin ( from the short saddle , bark and sinue removed , and skin scored )
• 1 clove of garlic crushed
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 100g butter
• 12 leaves of wild garlic ( washed )
• Maldon sea salt
• 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast ( or a tsp grated parmesan )
• Cold pressed rapeseed oil
• 400g pearl barley
• Maldon sea salt
• 100-200ml chicken stock
• 100g butter
• 1 tsp good quality vinegar ( we use a cabernet sauvignon vinegar )
• 8 breakfast radish ( washed and cut in half )
• Fresh anchovy in oil
• Red wine jus / gravy ( optional )
Method :
1 . To start off the fermentation of the pearl barley , add the pearl barley to a sterilised container , add water to cover by an inch and add 4g ( non-iodized ) sea salt . Cover this with a tea towel and fix with string or an elastic band , place somewhere cool and out of sunlight . Leave for two days minimum ; this will grow the natural yeasts in the air and barley and leave you with an amazing acidity that is difficult to replicate . ( If you don ’ t want to ferment this , follow the same recipe , but cover and place in the fridge instead .)
2 . Preheat the oven to 180 ° C .
3 . Start with the pesto . Simply place the washed wild garlic ( saving a couple leaves for plating ), pine nuts , nutritional yeast and salt in a food processor ( or mortar and pestle ) and start blending , adding the rapeseed until loose . Continue blending until smooth . Be careful the garlic doesn ’ t get too hot , or you ’ ll lose the green colour , and once smooth refrigerate until needed .
4 . For the lamb I like to cook the whole loin and portion after cooking , this way you get all the cuisson running the whole way down with zero wastage . Season all sides with salt and a small amount of pepper , place fat-side down in a cold oven-proof frying pan , and turn on a medium / high heat , which will start to render the fat . Once the fat is crispy and golden-brown , turn over , add the butter , crushed garlic and thyme , and once the butter has melted , turn over on the fat side again and place in the oven for 4-6 minutes . Leave the lamb in the pan , cover loosely in tin foil , and occasionally baste with the butter . ( It will come out very rare , but it will continue to cook in the residual pan heat .)
5 . While the lamb is in the oven , begin cooking the pearl barley . First , drain off the liquid in which you ’ ve soaked the barley and discard . Put a heavybottom saucepan on a medium high heat , add the butter and once it ' s bubbling add the pearl barley and stir ( like a risotto you want to get some heat into the grain ). After a couple of minutes , add the chicken stock little by little and cook off until the barley is al dente . ( You may not need all the chicken stock .) Check your seasonings and add a tsp of good quality vinegar .
6 . By the time this is done , the lamb should have rested for 15 / 20 minutes and be perfectly cooked , rested and ready to carve .
7 . To plate , add the pesto to the plate in a circle , then place the pearl barley creating a semi-circle inside the pesto , the lamb will fit inside the other half . Place radishes around the circle and place the anchovies around the dish for short sharp bursts of acidity . Finally , add some of the fresh wild garlic leaves .
TOP TIPS
1 . We ferment the wild garlic before making the pesto using a 2 % brine to do so .
2 . We also use the oil from the anchovies to make an emulsion ; this is easy to do and uses up the oil that otherwise would ’ ve been discarded .
3 . You can use the fat from the lamb pan to make a gravy - thicken with the same volume of flour , cook out , add a splash of red wine and dark chicken stock , and cook until thick .
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