Lamb loin dinner with Animal Brewery Hop kitty

 This is a posh dinner. Trimmed lamb loin (or cannon of lamb) is not a cheap cut of meat. However, treated simply and with a little care it more than pays back the expense of the initial purchase. With this recipe I have added some dinner party favourites alongside the meat. A loin of lamb should serve two or three people depending on the time of year and hence the age of the beast.

• 1 trimmed lamb loin
• Lamb stock
• Fruity red wine
• Redcurrant jelly

Dauphinoise potatoes

• 500gms maincrop potatoes (sliced quite thin)
• Large knob of butter
• 300ml double cream
• Full fat milk to top up
• 3 plump cloves of garlic (crushed)

Crushed peas

• 400gms peas (fresh or frozen)
• Large sprig of mint (leaves only)
• Dash of double cream

Its always best to start with the spuds. Dauphinoise is one of those dishes of which everyone thinks they have the perfect recipe. Many trace their recipe's history back to the great chefs of French classical cooking or to an ageing French great aunt. I have developed mine over time and there is nothing very clever about it, I promise there will be no rubbing of cut garlic on the roasting dish as I have never found this in any way effective. Put the cream and garlic in a small pan and slowly bring to a simmer. Allow this to barely disturb the surface for 5 minutes then turn off the hob and allow it to stand for over an hour. Add a pinch of salt.

Rub the inside of a baking dish with the butter to ensure an even coating. Place the potatoes in any order and push down a little to minimise the gaps. pour over the cream whilst stirring it to ensure the bits of garlic are evenly distributed. Top up with the milk if necessary so that the level of liquid is just below the top spuds.

cover loosely with foil and place (on a baking try) in a medium hot oven. After about 40 minutes take the foil off to crisp up the top.

Add a little oil to a frying pan and bring up the heat until it is almost smoking. pop in the entire loin turning to ensure all sides and edges are sealed and taking on some crust. Then place the lamb in a small roasting dish and into the oven (you could add a clove of garlic and maybe a sprig of rosemary if you wanted to be flash). It should take 10 to 15 minutes depending on how pink you like your lamb.

Return the frying pan to the heat and add a large glass of the red wine, reduce this by half then add a similar amount of the stock and reduce by a third. Add two big teaspoons of the redcurrant jelly to the sauce and stir to dissolve. slowly reduce this by just a little. 

Boil a little water in a small saucepan and add your peas, boil the peas for 4 or 5 minutes then place them in a mini blender with the mint, a little bit of butter and a dash of double cream. Blend just briefly so you are left with a lumpy, bright green mash. 

Allow the meat to rest for a good ten minutes after cooking, then carve. Serve with a little tower of the dauphinoisse, a spoonful of the pea mash another seasonable vegetable (I used slim asparagus). Pour the the sauce around the meat and enjoy.

The match

Animal Brewery is the slightly more experimental, alter ego of XT brewery based in Long Crendon, in the shadows of the Chiltern Hills near Thame. Animal produce beers named after or around animals such as Squid Ink Black IPA, Jack Rabbit |American Amber and Hop Kitty. Many of their beers are only available as limited editiomns or at certain times of the year. Hop Kitty describes itself as a Citra Pale. And the Citra hop presence is very clear on both the nose and the palate though it is firmly grounded in an English malt base. The hop power was perfect for cutting through the obvious richness of this dish. The citrus and resiny high notes also lent a bit of balance to the dish. Overall a beautiful match that had me reaching for a second bottle.