My Kitchen Rules South Africa

Lamb

• Preheat oven to 160°C.
• Lay out the deboned leg of lamb on a chopping board and use a sharp knife to roughly cut away all of the invisible fat.
• Check the outer layer and trim away almost all that you can see, leaving a thin layer on the outside of the meat to keep it moist during cooking. Try not to puncture the outer skin. Remove any fatty glands that are nestled inside a coating.
• Place a layer of baking paper over the meat, use a rolling pin, and slowly bash the lamb to even out the meat to ensure even cooking.
• Transfer meat onto cling wrap (skin side down) that has been generously seasoned with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
• Blitz together the remaining ingredients to create a green paste and generously spread the paste all over the inside of the lamb.
• Now, starting from the back, use the cling wrap to roll up the lamb into a tight, even cylinder and tie at both ends.
• Place in a deep freezer and allow the meat to firm up for about 30 minutes. Once done, remove the meat from the freezer, unwrap the cling wrap and start tying the lamb tighter with a cooking string to maintain shape throughout the cooking process.
• Heat a large pan on high heat, add butter and sunflower oil and start by searing the meat for 5 – 6 minutes until browned all over.
• Place meat in a roasting pan. Add some white wine water and cover the meat with foil. Allow to roast for 20 minutes in an oven covered. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes and then take out of the oven, cover with foil again, and allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes before carving it into thick medallions. The lamb must still be juicy and pink on the inside.

Lamb gravy

• Toss the bones in the oil and lay them out on a baking tray.
• Roast at 190°C for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
• Add the vegetables and tomato paste and brown for another 15 – 20 minutes.
• Deglaze the tray with wine and tip the contents into a saucepan, scraping the tray.
• Reduce the wine by three quarters and then add the stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Check regularly.
• Add the aromatics and simmer for another 35 – 40 minutes on very low heat until reduced.
• Strain the mixture through a small sieve (do this twice) and swirl it into a smaller pan and reduce on low heat skimming off any fat that comes to the surface until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and set aside.  

Corn purée

• Bring a large pot to heat and add all the ingredients except for the cream, crème fraîche, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
• Cover the pot with a lid and gently simmer the corn in the milk until cooked.
• Remove from the heat.
• Remove the corn cobs from the milk and using a sharp knife start by sliding the knife down the con to cut off the corn kernels.
• In a blender add the corn kernels, 200ml of the milk from the cooking pot, 100ml cream, and two tablespoons of crème fraîche. Blend until smooth, pass through a fine sieve, check seasoning, and add a couple squirts of lemon. 
• Transfer to a piping bag. Save some of the corn kernels for serving.

Charred baby corn

• In a shallow pot bring some water to a boil.
• Blanch the baby corn for 30 seconds. 
• Transfer to an ice bath and then cook gently in a very hot pan with butter and oil unit they turn brown and gnarly.
• Remove and reserve for later.

Crispy parsnips

• Heat oil in deep fryer to 180°C.
• Peel and cut parsnips into small cubes. Also slice a couple of parsnips lengthways for presentations.
• Drop in hot oil, fry uni; crispy.
• Remove from the oil and sprinkle over rosemary salt (finely chop rosemary and mix with Maldon salt).

Green gremolata

• Add pine nuts to a pan and lightly toast them until slightly brown. Add these to a food processor with parsley and mint, and blitz together with olive oil,  lemon juice, and zest.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Save until needed.

For rosemary and mint dust

• Place leftover rosemary and mint on a kitchen towel on a plate and place in the microwave for 2 minutes.
• Flip the towel over and repeat for 2 minutes. Once done crumble the leaves into a crumb.

Parmesan foam

• Add the Parmesan, water, and soy lecithin to a shallow bowl.
• Blend the ingredients with an immersion blender.
• Pour into a pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
• Take the pot off the stove after boiling and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. 
• Pour into a shallow bowl and discard the Parmesan paste at the bottom of the pot.
• Blend the mixture with an immersion blender until foam forms on the top. 
• Scoop off the foam into another dish.  Repeat until there is no more liquid in the bowl.

For the crispy garlic

• Slice the garlic into 1mm slices using a mandolin.
• Drop into the milk and bring to a simmer over medium heat for 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and spoon onto a dry paper towel.
• Fry in the oil at 160°C for 2 – 3 minutes until golden and crisp.
• Drain on a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.

Tomato concasse

• Place big tomatoes in boiling water and wait for skin to slowly start peeling away from the flesh of the tomato.
• Once this happens, peel all the tomatoes.
• Finely dice tomatoes and mix with vinegar, salt, and pepper.
• Reserve for serving.

Radishes

• Finely slice the radishes in equal rounds.
• Add red wine vinegar and sugar and allow to pickle.
• Reserve until needed.