Lamb lollipop with garrigue crust and spring veg recipe

Walking in the gorgeous countryside is the inspiration behind this Spring lamb recipe. Garrigue refers to the shrubland found in the South of France, and includes aromatic herbs like rosemary, thyme and oregano.

I love the chunky aspect of chopped fresh herbs, but dried will do the trick too. The lamb lollipops (french cut lamb chops) and baby carrots take a bit of prep work, but look gorgeous and are super delicious. And the pairing with Pure is one I discovered while camping – a perfect match!

Ingredients for 4 people

• 9-12 lamb chops
• For the garrigue crust:
  • two large handfuls of fresh Provence herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram
  • Flour seasoned with salt and pepper, and a beaten egg
• Bunch of baby carrots
• Punnet of sugar-snap peas
• 9-12 baby potatoes
• Punnet of baby tomatoes
• Olive oil and dried Provence herbs for tomatoes

Method

1. Slow-roasted tomatoes are one of life’s sweet pleasures! Set your oven to 130°C. Slice tomatoes in half and add to a baking tray. Pour olive oil generously over the top, and season with lots of dried Provence herbs and some salt and pepper. Toss them gently in the dish, and pop them into the oven. The larger the tomatoes, the longer it will take. Depending on how dried you’d like them, cook for about 1.5 to 2 hours.
2. French cut the lamb chops – cut excess meat/fat away on the top of the bone, leaving the juicy round morsel. I found a pair of scissors easiest to make the initial trim, and then used a small sharp knife to scrape away everything else to leave to bone clean.
3. Make garrigue crust – if you have a food processor, add the washed fresh herbs and blitz them together, leaving them a little chunky. Or cut them finely with a sharp knife. I added salt and pepper to the flour, and dipped the lamb lollipops on all sides. Then covered them with the beaten egg and dipped them into the fresh herb mix. Add your herbs to the plate bit by bit, then you can keep any extra for later.
4. Prepare the baby carrots – scrape the carrots clean, and cut off the tops leaving about an inch. Keep the carrot tops for the gravy.
5. Make a gravy – fry up the excess meat/fat from the lamb chops with a roughly chopped onion including the skin. Add a splash of wine and lots of stock and let it bubble away. Add the carrot tops after it starts reducing to add a fresh flavour and let it reduce to your preferred consistency. Season if necessary. Before serving, strain the jus into a little gravy pot.
6. Cook the lamb lollipops – on a medium high heat, add a little olive oil to your frying pan and cook each side of the chops for about 4-5 minutes. Time this for about 15 minutes before the tomatoes are ready.
7. Boil the baby potatoes until cooked through. Drain and let them dry. Just before serving, add them to the pan that the lollipops were in the toss them gently in the meat juices.
8. Cook the carrots and sugar-snap peas in lightly salted boiling water for a few minutes, and drain when they’re tender enough.
9. Serve everything on pretty plates, and if the weather gods are kind, enjoy your meal alfresco.
10. Pour yourselves a lovely glass of Pure and enjoy the flavour combinations. Bon appetit !