Sharmila on Food

Breast of lamb Ste Menehould with sauce gribiche

Everyone loves crispy things in breadcrumb.  Fact.  I recently ate a load of cheese in breadcrumbs.  So wrong, but even so, I still kind of liked it.  There’s a lot to be said for a crunchy crumb.

Add to the list of crispy breadcrumb delights - breast of lamb Ste Menehould. Catchy title.  I first saw this recipe in Roast Chicken and Other Stories by Simon Hopkinson, and had wanted to make it for years.  It found fame initially through Elizabeth David, and as far as I can tell, the recipe I used was not really dissimilar to the one that she first published.

Breast of lamb is an almost giveaway cut.  It’s fatty, and requires long, slow cooking.  In this case, you’re talking about a multiple cooking process - braising followed by cooling followed by shaping and grilling (you’ll have to start this the day before).  However, if you put that work in you’re rewarded with a great dish that often only costs a couple of quid.

Alongside, a classic, piquant sauce gribiche.  All in all, an old school dish, but a seriously tasty one at that.

Breast of lamb Ste Menehould - recipe taken from The Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall (which is taken from Elizabeth David)

1 breast of lamb
2 carrots, sliced
2 onions, sliced
a glass of white wine
a glass of water
a sprig of rosemary, or thyme, or
   both
salt, fresh ground black pepper

to finish: 
mustard
one egg, beaten
dried breadcrumbs
100g  butter, melted

1. Place the breast of lamb in an oven-proof dish or casserole, cut into two halves if necessary to fit, with the carrots, onions and herbs scattered under and over it and the wine and water poured over. Season well with salt and pepper and cover the dish with foil (or its lid)

2. Bake in an oven preheated to 140ºC for two and half to three hours, removing the dish to turn and baste the breast two or three times, until the meat is completely  tender.   

3. As soon as the meat is cool enough to handle,  slip the rib bones out of the meat by tugging gently with your fingers. Press the boneless breasts between two chopping boards, or two flat plates, with a weight on top (I used a smaller heavy saucepan). Leave in the fridge overnight.

4. To finish the dish, slice the cold,  pressed breast meat into two-finger width, one-finger length slices. Brush the slices with a little mustard, dip in beaten egg, and press firmly into a bowl of breadcrumbs so they are well coated. Arrange on a wire rack in a roasting tin, brush each with a little melted butter, and place in the centre of an oven pre-heated to 180º C. After 15 minutes, turn on the oven grill (if it doesn’t have one whack the oven up to maximum heat), to get them very crisp (a touch blackened but not  incinerated), first on one side, then the other.

Sauce gribiche

2-3 hard-boiled eggs, yolks and whites separated
1tsp spoon of mustard
300 ml oil
2tbsp of white wine vinegar
1dtsp of cornichons, chopped
1dtsp of capers, chopped
1dtsp of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1tsp tarragon, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1. Mash the egg yolks in a bowl with a fork to form a smoothish paste. 

2. Add the mustard and salt and pepper. Pour in the oil in a thin stream, mixing the egg and mustard mixture as you do so.  Add the vinegar.

3. Add the cornichons, capers, tarragon and parsley to the mixture.  Finally, add coarsely-chopped egg whites and check for seasoning