Summer Recipes from the Blue Ball Inn

Roast Rump of Lamb with Provencal Vegetables

June is a good time to enjoy lamb. Spring has gone and along with it the annual and merciless price hikes that spring lamb is always subjected to. As well as being cheaper lamb is also more flavourful in summer. It's had months to munch on grass and time to get its muscles working which is always good for flavour.

What we're using in the pub at the moment are rumps of lamb. A lot of people have never heard of this particular cut let alone used it but if you know your anatomy you can surely guess where it comes from.  In case you need another hint - each lamb will yield two of them. Don't be scared.

Lamb rumps (aka chumps) are a decent size; roughly as big as a girly fist, weighing somewhere between 7-9 oz (depending on breed), and are pure meat with just a single layer of skin on the top side that will crisp up a treat. It has a great taste (getting back to the muscle usage thing) and will stand up to big flavours with no problems at all. Here we are pairing it with Provençal vegetables - aubergines, courgettes, peppers and the like - and a sweet but tangy tomato dressing so even if it's raining in July you can still get a taste of the sun.

Ingredients (four people)

For the Tomato Oil Dressing
1 punnet very ripe cherry tomatoes
200ml olive oil
Handful of basil leaves
½ tspn salt
6 grinds of black pepper
A pinch of sugar
1 tspn sherry vinegar

1. Place everything in a saucepan over a medium heat until beginning to gently bubble then cool to room temperature. Liquidize and strain. This can be done well in advance.

For the Lamb and Vegetables:
4 rumps of lamb
1 small aubergine – stalk removed, cut in half lengthways and sliced into half discs
1 large courgette - stalk removed, cut in half lengthways and sliced into half discs
1 each, red, green and yellow peppers – deseeded and cut into chunks
4 cloves of garlic - peeled
4 banana shallots – peeled and ¼’d lengthways
Leaves from two sprigs of rosemary
2 tblspn olive oil

1. Pre-heat your oven to 200°

2. Place a pan over a med-high heat (no oil required). Season the rumps generously on all sides with salt and fresh black pepper then place in the pan skin side down until it renders some of its own fat and the skin is golden. Using tongs turn the rumps and give them a minute or so on each side, cooking until golden. Turn them skin side down, add a knob of butter, transfer to your pre-heated oven and roast for 15 minutes to medium/pink.  Remove from the oven, transfer to a plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 10 minutes.

3. Place a second pan over a medium heat with the olive oil then add the aubergine, courgette, peppers, shallots, garlic and rosemary. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper then turn up the heat and cook, tossing from time to time, until the vegetables begin to brown a little around the edges then transfer to the oven and cook for 20 minutes. If you time it right you can get the vegetables into the oven five minutes after the lamb and they will be ready as the lamb finishes resting.

To serve:
Arrange the vegetables in 4 serving dishes then carve the lamb into 5 thick slices and sit on top. Drizzle with the tomato oil and any juices from the rested lamb. Steamed Cous Cous would be an ideal accompaniment. Enjoy. Monthly recipe as featured in Fiveways magazine. Back to recipes.