A throwback to book one, minus the pots. Lamb rump rendered in a cold pan, a tray of rough-chipped potatoes, chunky onion and a whole head of garlic, and buttery beans done in a bowl with the kettle. It's like a mini roast midweek.
Serves: 5
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
4 pieces lamb rump (about 1.2 kg total), skin on
1.5 kg large potatoes, unpeeled, cut into rough wedges no wider than 1.5 cm
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
2 lemons
125 ml water
1 brown onion, peeled and cut into giant chunks
1 whole head garlic
500 g green beans
1 big slap of butter
pepper
1 big handful mint leaves
your favourite sauce from the fridge, to serve (optional)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 220°C fan-forced.
Place the lamb rump pieces skin-side down in a cold roasting pan, then set over medium heat and let the fat render slowly for 5 - 10 minutes, until the skin is nice and crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Chip the potatoes into the pan, add the olive oil, a good pinch of salt, the juice of 1 lemon and the water, and toss it all around.
Roast for 20 minutes, then take it out, toss again and roast for another 20 minutes.
Give the potatoes a shake, then chip in the onion. Rip the top off the head of garlic so all the cloves are exposed and nestle it into the pan face down. Shake it all around and roast for another 15 - 20 minutes.
Reduce the oven to 200°C fan-forced. Nestle the lamb back in skin-side up, in the gaps so it's not sitting on the potatoes, and roast for 20 minutes.
Rest the lamb for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, put the beans in a bowl and cover with boiling water from the kettle. Leave for about 5 minutes, adding another kettle of boiling water if they need a little more. Drain, then toss with the butter and season with salt and pepper.
Slice the lamb, squeeze over the remaining lemon as needed and scatter over the mint leaves. Serve with any sauce you like from the fridge.
HINTS
4 rumps is enough for 5 people because lamb's rich and it's delicious - you don't need a huge amount.
You can render the lamb slower or faster, it doesn't matter. You just want some crispy top matter happening.
The lemon and water at the start make the potatoes sticky and stocky. The squeeze of lemon at the end is just for flavour.
The potatoes could go harder and faster - you just want them browned because they're always going to cook. You could do 15 minutes for both of those first two roasts.
20 minutes for the lamb was a little bit too far for me, so you could do 15 minutes at 200°C. Really depends on how you like your lamb.
Nestle the lamb into the gaps so it's not sitting on potato. Unless you want lammy, bloody potato - that's fine as well, doesn't matter.
Do not top and tail your beans if you're serving your family. That would be like deboning a chicken wing. Give them cutlery, or let them eat the fibre. You're not in a restaurant.
No sauce made here - it's shake and bake, eat how you like. Mint jelly works, but don't skip the fresh mint.
NUTRITION (per recipe total - serves 5 - guide only):
Energy: approx. 4,150 kcal (17,400 kJ)
Protein: approx. 285g
Fat: approx. 180g
Saturated fat: approx. 78g
Carbohydrate: approx. 325g
Sugars: approx. 35g
Sodium: approx. 3,100mg
This nutrition information is a guide only and may vary depending on brands, exact quantities, and ingredient substitutions used.