Great British Food Christmas 2024

3. Now make the salsa verde. Take a small frying pan and gently warm a little of the oil. Add the shallot and cook over a low heat until soft, then add the remaining oil and warm through to about 70°C. Pour the oil and shallot mixture over the herbs. Stir well and then add the anchovies, lemon zest and juice, vinegar, cumin and sea salt. Transfer to a blender and blitz smooth. Keep in a jar, semi-chilled. 4. Preheat the oven to 120°C fan. 5. Next, place a large casserole over a medium–high heat and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the lamb shoulder and brown the meat all over, then remove from the pan and add the vinegar to deglaze. 6. Once the vinegar is reduced, add the white wine and reduce until almost evaporated. Now add the stock, thyme, rosemary and garlic, bring to the boil and add the lamb. Cover and cook in the oven for 2½–3 hours until the lamb is soft. 7. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave the lamb to cool in the cooking liquor. Pick the cooled meat into nice pieces in a bowl and cover with aluminium foil to keep warm. Pass the cooking liquor through a sieve and set aside for the next stage. 8. Place a shallow casserole over a high heat, add the remaining olive oil and fry the bacon until nice and crisp. Remove the bacon but keep the pan on the heat and add the carrots and onion and cook, stirring, in the bacon fat for 2 minutes. Add the celery and cook for 3 minutes, then add the tomato purée and cook, stirring, for a further 3 minutes, ensuring the tomato purée doesn’t burn. 9. Now deglaze the pan with the balsamic and reduce the vinegar into the vegetables. Add the red wine and reduce right down so that the mixture becomes nice and thick. Pour in the tinned tomatoes and simmer until thick. Add the lamb braising liquor, bring to a simmer and reduce until you have a lovely, thick, glossy ragù. 10. Now stir through the chopped plum tomatoes, seaweed and crisp bacon. Place the cooked lamb in the sauce and finish with the sherry vinegar and mint. Stir gently so as not to break up the lamb too much. Leave to cool, then spoon into a 20–25 cm pie dish. Increase the oven temperature to 180°C fan. 11. Cut the potatoes into roughly the same-sized quarters. Place in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to a simmer. Season the water with sea salt and gently poach the potatoes until soft, then drain into a colander and steam dry. Once they are steamed dry, put the poached potatoes through a ricer and back into the pan. Warm gently over a low heat, add the butter and stir until fully incorporated, then add the milk and stir. Season with the nutmeg and taste. I personally love a thick texture of potatoes for shepherd’s pie but if you want the mash smoother, pass it through a fine sieve as well. 12. Top the lamb ragù with the potato and bake the pie for 20 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle the two cheeses all over the top, then bake for a further 12 minutes until crisp and bubbling. 13. While the shepherd’s pie is cooking, place the lamb mince into a baking tray and roast for 20–30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until really crisp. Remove from the oven and drain the crisp mince on kitchen paper, then place in a bowl and add the mint leaves and lemon zest. Mix well and spoon all over the hot shepherd’s pie. 14. Serve in the middle of table, with the salsa verde alongside in a separate bowl. Enjoy! Three-Cheese&Onion Arancini The Caffè Rojano arancini have become pretty iconic, to the point that, if we even dared to take themoff themenu, there would be an outcry. This version is slightly different but, if youwant to replicate the Caffè Rojano version, then just fold through some beef bolognese to make the arancini Sicilian. Themixture lasts for 3–4 days in the fridge but also freezes well, so you don’t have to use it all in one go. Always allow the balls to come to room temperature before frying for maximumooziness. Serves: 4 Prepare: 30minutes plus chilling time Cook: 40minutes 60g unsalted butter 1 small white onion, diced 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or grated 2 sprigs of thyme 250g arborio rice 900ml chicken or vegetable stock 50g Red Leicester, grated 50gmozzarella, grated 50g Parmesan, grated 2 spring onions, finely sliced 1 g chives, chopped 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 litre olive oil 2 eggwhites, beaten 150g really dry or panko breadcrumbs Cornish sea salt Cracked black pepper 1. Place a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the butter and melt. Now add the onion, garlic, thyme and a pinch of sea salt. Cook the onion without colouring until soft. Add the rice and stir until the onion and butter coats the rice. 2. In a separate pan, heat the stock RECI PES | PAUL AINSWORTH greatbr i t ishfoodawards.com 82