Rack of lamb with mushroom ravioli, cep purée and wild mushroom sauce

Make lamb extra special by bringing the wonderful flavour of wild mushrooms to your plate.

Preparation method

1. For the mushroom ravioli, blend the flour and 3 of the eggs in a food processor until the mixture resembles small breadcrumbs. Remove from the processor and knead on a lightly floured surface for 2-3 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

2. Repeat this process 3-4 more times, flouring the machine and changing the setting down each time.

3. Once the pasta sheets has reached the ideal thickness, cut it in half and place a sheet onto a lightly floured work surface. Place small spoonfuls of the cooked mushrooms at intervals along the sheet, leaving a gap of 10cm/4in in between each spoonful.

4. Beat the remaining egg in a bowl and brush it around each spoonful of the mushroom mixture. Place another sheet of pasta on top and press it down lightly around the spoonduls of mushrooms.

5. Using a 8cm/3in pastry cutter, cut out the ravioli. Store the ravioli in the fridge on well-floured greaseproof paper until needed.

6. Meanwhile, for the cep purée, heat the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until softened. Add the soaked ceps and a teaspoon of the soaking water and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Blend the mixture in a food processor to a thick purée. You may need to add a little extra soaking water.

7. For the wild mushroom sauce, heat the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the wild mushrooms and fry for 2-3 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.

8. Add the wine to the same pan used to cook the mushrooms and continue to heat, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, until the volume of the mixture has reduced by half. Add the beef stock and continue to cook until the volume of the mixture has reduced by half. Stir in the cooked wild mushrooms and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

9. For the rack of lamb, preheat the oven at 200C/400F/Gas 6.

10. Season the lamb racks, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

11. Heat half the butter and one tablespoon of the olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan until and fry the lamb racks for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown. Transfer to the oven to roast for 5-7 minutes (for medium), or until cooked to your liking. Remove from the oven and set the lamb aside on a warm plate to rest for 10 minutes. Once rested, carve each rack of lamb into 2 pieces.

12. Heat the remaining butter and olive oil in a frying pan and add the sweet potato and thyme and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until golden-brown and tender. season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

13. Meanwhile, cook the ravioli in a large pan of simmering water, for 1-2 minutes, or until they float, then drain.

14. Mix the cooked ravioli and olive oil in a bowl. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

15. To serve, spoon some of sweet potato into the middle of each of 4 serving plates. Top each with a piece of lamb then a mushroom ravioli and spoon some cep purée alongside. Finish each plate with a spoonful of wild mushroom sauce.

Required techniques

• How to knead bread dough
• Rolling pasta using a pasta machine
• Learning to chop: dicing an onion
• Learning to chop: dicing an onion
• Knife skills: how to finely chop