Lamb with mashed potatoes, balsamic glazed baby onions and French beans in pancetta

Ingredients

For the lamb with red wine jus
12 lamb chops, trimmed (keep all trimmings and chine bone from rack)
4 tbsp clear honey
5 tbsp light olive oil
4 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 ripe tomatoes
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 heaped tbsp tomato purée
250ml/8¾fl oz red wine
1 litre/1¾ pints vegetable stock
For the balsamic glazed baby onions
300g/10½oz baby onions, peeled but left whole
150ml/5¼fl oz balsamic vinegar
For the French beans wrapped in pancetta
250g/8¾oz fine green beans, trimmed and blanched
4 slices thin pancetta
For the mashed potatoes
4 King Edward potatoes, peeled, chopped into even-sized pieces
salt, to taste
knob of butter
dash milk
150g/5¼oz parmesan, grated

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. For the lamb with red wine jus, place the lamb chops into a large oven tray, drizzle over the honey and four tablespoons of the olive oil and add half of the rosemary. Cover and leave to rest for at least an hour in a cool place.
3. Heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a high heat, add the lamb trimmings and bone and fry until dark in colour. Remove the lamb trimmings from the pan and set aside. Add the celery, onion, carrot, tomatoes and garlic to the same pan, reducing the heat to medium. Soften for two minutes before adding the tomato purée.
4. Increase the heat and fry, stirring regularly until the purée has become rich and dark. Return the bones to the pan, along with the red wine. Simmer until the volume of liquid has almost evaporated. Add the vegetable stock and the rest of the rosemary. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the volume of liquid has reduced by half. Before serving pass the gravy through a fine sieve into a clean pan and keep warm.
5. For the balsamic glazed baby onions, place the baby onions into a non-reactive, heavy-based roasting tray, pour over the balsamic vinegar and place in the preheated oven to cook for about 15 minutes, until caramelised and cooked through.
6. For the French beans wrapped in pancetta, divide the blanched beans into four equal-sized bunches. Wrap each bunch in pancetta. Place into the oven (still at 180C/350F/Gas 4) to cook for five minutes, or until the pancetta is crisp.
7. For the mashed potatoes, place the potatoes in a pan and cover with water. Add a pinch of salt, bring to the boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Boil for 12-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
8. Drain the potatoes well and mash with a potato masher or ricer until smooth.
9. Heat the milk and butter in a small pan until the butter has melted. Add the milk and butter mixture to the mashed potato, stirring with a wooden spoon to combine. Keep the potatoes warm while you cook the lamb.
10. To cook the lamb, heat a griddle pan until smoking. Drain the lamb chops, scraping off any excess marinade. Place six of the chops into a frying pan and fry over a very high heat for two minutes on each side for rare (longer if you prefer your meat more cooked through). Once cooked, set the chops aside in a warm place while you repeat the process with the remaining six chops.
11. To serve, place a dollop of mashed potato to one side of each of four serving plates. Lean three lamb chops on one side, and place a bundle of pancetta-wrapped beans alongside. Scatter a few onions around each plate and drizzle a generous portion of red wine jus over the chops and vegetables.