“Lamb and potatoes is served all over the world. I selected the most common preparations from British, French and Italian kitchens: mint for the UK, thyme for France and basil for Italy. I find this ‘cultural selection’ or herb preference fascinating. The lamb is plated in the center with orbiting green sauces and baked potato discs. Each aromatic herb brings out a distinct flavour note and triggers our palate to jump contintents.”
Serves 4
Ingredients
Rack of Lamb sectioned into 4 parts
Borragine flowers
Baked potatoes
8 potatoes
50g sour cream
Basil cream
25ml lamb broth
200g washed basil leaves
Mint sauce
50g mint
50ml spring water
5g japanese potato flakes
Bread crumb discs
300g sour dough bread
150g thyme
1 egg, beaten
Method
Basil cream
Steam 100g of basil leaves for 4-5 seconds (not more) and let cool.Place lamb broth in a thermomix, with the steamed and raw basil. Mix well for 3 minutes. Pass through a sieve and adjust salt and sugar. Keep refrigerated.
Mint sauce
Mix mineral water with fresh mint in blender or cuisinart. Blend for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl mix 10g of potato flakes with mineral water. Add to the mint cream water. Place on low heat until thickens. (2 minutes)
Baked potatoes
Peel potatoes. Carve out 2 cylinders per potato. Hollow out the centers. Keep the extra potato pulp on the side. Steam the cylinders and pulp for 15 minutes. Blend the pulp and the sour cream. Fill each cylinder with the mixture. Use 2 cylinders for each serving.
Thyme bread discs
In a cuisinart, blend bread and thyme into fine bread crumbs.
Line baking rack with wax paper and paint the surface with egg mixture. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the egg and shake to cover with egg. Bake until forms a solid sheet of breadcrumb. Cut into discs the size of the cylinders and place over them like ‘tops’.
Lamb
(fan oven at 200°).
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil in a pan. When it is quite hot add the lamb and brown on each side. Place in oven for about 5 minutes. Salt after removing from the oven. Let rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve with sauces. The basil sauce should be served at room temperature while the mint sauce should be served warm. Warm potatoes (with filling) in oven and cover with breadcrumb discs. Decorate with borragine flowers.
Find out more about Massimo Bottura
Image© Paolo Terzi