Braised lamb neck fillet with Tap Social Inside Out

It is the time of year when it is unwise to trust the weather. This is the reason that one always needs to ready with a bright zingy salad or a heavy braise. This is really a dish that is suited to dark winter evenings and not to mild spring twilight.

• Lamb neck fillets (work on about 150-200 gms per person)
• 1 large carrot (cut into chunks)
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 2 celery stalks (cut into small pieces)
• 3 cloves of garlic (roughly chopped)
• 1/3 bottle red wine
• 250 ml lamb stock
• 1 tbsp quince jelly (or redcurrant)
• splash of oil

Heat the oil in a heavy pan with a lid. Put in the carrot, onion, celery and garlic. sweat these down until softened and taking on a little bit of colour. Remove these from the pan and set aside. Pop the pan back on the heat and ad the lamb to brown it all over (get a real crust on them). Add the veg back in and pour over the wine. Make sure it boils to burn off the booze and then add the stock. Cover and put on a low simmer for a couple of hours until the meat is falling apart. 

Lift out the meat and set aside somewhere warm. Stain the liquid and return to the pan on the heat, add the jelly (it really is very easy to make) until it is thick and sticky. Serve the meat with the sticky sauce over the top. I served it with cauliflower puree, baton carrots and roasted shallots.

The match

Tap Social Movement are a force for good. They deliberately recruit staff who are leaving the prison system, a group for whom paid work is not only hard to find but their only chance to build a future outside of the criminal justice system. Their beer is also really good.

Inside Out is an Oatmeal Stout, meaning that oats are used as part of the grain bill during brewing. This tends to add body and also makes the head nice and creamy. This is a really lovely beer and hits all the chocolatey and coffee flavours that would be expected. It has a lovely body and matched up to the rich meal very well.

As a note, because I've been asked, I am perfectly comfortable matching a beer to a dish which contains red wine. By the time that the wine has been cooked for 2 hours it has a lovely flavour but it is not in any way like something you would put in a glass.   

Pulled pork and black pudding bon bons with Northern Monk, Heathen

It is no secret that I have an almost irrational love of Black Pudding. However, in this dish it is not the super star, merely a bit part player in a supporting role. This dish is a starter though quite a strong first course to any meal. It also uses up leftover meat. Any leftover roast meat can be used here, as long as it can be shredded like pulled pork. (For the record, I cure my own bacon and the meat from this came from the trimmings and ribs left from preparing the belly for its cure, they were simply slow roasted and shredded).

Mrs H.S. Ball's Peach Chutney is a South African classic. It's a bit like a mango chutney with a peachy overtone. Like mango chutney, it has hundreds of uses, from being alongside a curry to a decent ham sandwich.

• 120 gms shredded (or pulled) pork (though it could be any meat you happen to have left over)
• 50 gms black pudding (about one slice)
• 2 eggs
• Handful of breadcrumbs
• Handful of plain flour
• A splash of milk
• Jar of Mrs H.S. Ball's Peach chutney
• 4 rashers of good smoked bacon (you could even try making your own

Blitz up the black pudding in a small blender and add it to the shredded meat with one of the eggs and a sprinkling of bread crumbs. Mix this well and then portion it into 8 balls. Roll them well and pop them into the fridge for twenty to firm up a bit.

Pre-heat the over to 160 degrees fan.

Prepare three bowls. In the first bowl put the flour (with a little seasoning); in the second bowl, beat the remaining egg with the milk; the breadcrumbs go into the final bowl. Take the balls and coat them in the flour then pass them through the egg wash (ensuring it is totally coated) and finally through the breadcrumbs to cover completely. Pop them back in the fridge.

Place a small sheet of baking parchment on a flat tray and very lightly oil it. lay the rashers of bacon on this and place another oiled sheet on top. On this place a flat bottomed roasting dish and place it all in the oven for about 20 minutes. The bacon should come out crisp and flat.

Take the bon bons out of the fridge and place near the hob. Fill a sauce pan 1/3 full of a neutral oil (like sunflower) put this on the hob and turn on. Do not take your eyes of the oil, deep fat frying is dangerous. When a loose breadcrumb, thrown into the oil, fizzes and browns quickly the oil is ready. Cook the  bon bons, four at a time, in the oil. When cooked pop them in the oven which should still be warm.

Its time to plate up! Pour a line of chutney on the plate and place a bon bon at each end of the chutney. Place a rasher of bacon across the top and serve, 

The Match

Northern Rock produce awesome beers. They are proud of their humble roots and produce some of the most drinkable beers I know. Heathen is full of tropical and stone fruit on the nose and this carries through to the palate and the finish is sweet and fresh. It is a brilliantly made modern IPA. The stone fruit notes were picked up in the chutney and the alcohol cut through the richness of the bon bons beautifully. This was a lovely match.