Preparation time
less than 30 mins
Cooking time
over 2 hours
Serves
Serves 2–4
By Matt TebbuttFrom Saturday Kitchen
Ingredients
For the lamb ribs
- 1 rack lamb ribs
- 1 bay leaf
- bunch rosemary
- 1 head garlic
- 1 litre/1¾ pint light olive oil or vegetable oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- watercress, to garnish
For the shallot purée
- 15g/½oz unsalted butter
- 250g/9oz banana shallots, finely chopped
- 50ml/2fl oz double cream
For the roast shallots
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 shallots, cut in half
- 25g/1oz butter
- 3 garlic cloves
- few thyme sprigs
For the crumbs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 6 salted anchovy fillets, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- handful Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
Method
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To make the lamb ribs, preheat the oven to 140C/120C Fan/Gas 1. Place the ribs, bay leaf, rosemary and garlic in a roasting tin and cover with the oil until they are completely submerged. Cook for 3 hours and leave to cool in the fat.
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When ready to cook, remove the ribs from the fat, wipe off the excess oil and cut into individual ribs.Fry in a frying pan over a medium heat until crisp and golden. Season with salt and pepper.
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To make the shallot purée, heat the butter in a frying pan and fry the shallots gently over a very low heat for 20–30 minutes. Place in a food processor or blender and blitz to a purée with the cream.
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To make the roast shallots, preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the shallots, cut-side down until golden. Add the butter, garlic and thyme and cook for another few minutes. Transfer to a baking tray and roast for 15–20 minutes, or until softened.
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For the crumbs, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a high heat. Add the anchovies, garlic and cumin seeds and fry for a minute. Add the crumbs and fry until golden. Remove the mixture with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Leave to cool slightly and then sprinkle with the paprika, parsley and mint.
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To serve, spoon the shallot purée onto warmed plates and top with the roast shallots and lamb ribs. Scatter over the crumbs and garnish with watercress.
