spring lamb loin and rack, baby fondant potatoes, heritage baby carrots, broad beans, wild garlic & smoked pomme purée, morello cherry aspic and gel, lamb & chocolate jus

Preheat oven to 185°C/gas mark 4.

Start with the baby fondant potatoes. Using a small circular cutter, cut four small baby fondants from the halved potatoes. In a heavy-based sauté pan, add a dash of oil and a knob of butter. When that starts to foam, add the potatoes and seal getting a golden colour on each end of the potatoes. Add the vegetable stock until it reaches halfway up the potatoes. Roast in the oven until potatoes are cooked all the way through.

For the heritage baby carrots, peel each carrot and steam until they are cooked through but still hold their firmness. When ready to serve, brush with melted butter for shine and richness. 

Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the broad beans for 15 seconds. Remove and place in ice cold water to refresh. Double-pod the beans out of their shells.

For the wild garlic and smoked pomme purée, cut the potatoes into rough pieces. Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and add the potatoes. Cook on low for three minutes, then add the vegetable stock and simmer for eight minutes. Add the wild garlic and simmer for a further eight minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. Blitz in a food blender until smooth and pass through a sieve.

Put the morello cherry purée and xanthan gum into a food blender and blitz until thickened into a gel-like consistency. Soak the gelatine leaf in cold water and bring the purée to a gentle simmer. Squeeze the water out of the soaked gelatine and add to the purée. Whisk well until fully combined and pour into silicone half-sphere moulds. Place into the fridge to chill and set.

Score the fat on the lamb loin and lamb rack to help the rendering process.

Place a heavy-based frying pan on a medium heat and when hot, first place the rack of lamb into the pan fat side down. Get a good golden brown colour on the fat, roughly 4 minutes, then turn over and seal each side.

When on the last side of the rack, add the lamb loin into the pan – again, fat side down and get a golden colour. Then turn over and seal each side of the loin.

Ensuring both the loin and rack of lamb are fat side down in the pan place into the oven and cook for 11 minutes. Remove from the oven and the pan and set aside to rest.

Using the same pan the lamb was cooked in, place it back onto a medium heat and add the lamb stock to deglaze. When the stock is reduced by a third, add and whisk in the chocolate for a rich shiny jus.

Bring all your ingredients together and assemble as desired.