Like everybody else we’re having to accept that food prices are increasing dramatically. But the increases don’t seem to be consistent. A Medium Chicken which was £2.29 less than a year ago is now £3.99. However Lamb which has always been a Budget Breaker doesn’t seem to have increased in price to the same extent. When I have time I generally buy the ‘Protein’ component first and we then build a recipe around it. So I’m now looking at the meats / cuts which used to be unaffordable, as we’re actually getting better flavours and better cuts than if we stick to what were to ‘In Budget’ offerings. If we’ve got to accept that staying within our £4 for 2 people daily budget is now almost impossible, we might just as well eat better slightly over budget.

These Lamb Breast cuts were £2.50 each and there was probably enough meat on one to share comfortably.

Ingredients:-

2 Lamb Rib / Breast cuts
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp of Olive Oil
Juice of ½ a Lemon
1 Tsp of Dried Mint
Salt & Pepper to season

Roast Vegetable Ingredients:-

10 Baby Potatoes, halved
1 Leek, sliced thickly
1 Red Onion, chopped
6 Shallots, peeled
1 Large Carrot, peeled and batoned
200ml of White Wine
A drizzle of Olive Oil
A Pinch of Sumac
A handful of fresh Mint (grown on our balcony)
Salt & Pepper to season

Method:-

(1) Combine the Oil, Lemon Juice, Mint and Garlic.
(2) Season with Salt & Pepper.
(3) Rub over the Lamb and allow to marinade in the fridge for an hour or so.
(4) Place the Ribs on a baking tray, covering tightly with foil.
(5) Cook at 160c in a pre-heated oven for 2 hours.
(6) Remove the foil, turn up the oven to 200c and cook for a further 20 minutes.
(7) Place all the Vegetables in a baking tray and pour over the Wine.
(8) Season with Salt & Pepper and drizzle with the Oil.
(9) Sprinkle with Sumac and cover with foil.
(10) Place in the oven with the Lamb after an hour on the bottom shelf.
(11) Remove the Lamb and allow to rest.
(12) Remove the foil from the Vegetables and move to the top shelf for 10 minutes.

Arrange the Vegetables on your plates, serve the Lamb over the top, garnished with chopped Mint.