Braised lamb neck chops with potato-leek mash and gremolata

Serves

Prep Time

Cook Time

180

Ingredients

4 x 200g Lamb neck chops

1 Onion, chopped

1 Carrot, chopped

2 Celery sticks, chopped

2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp Thyme

1 tsp Peppercorns

½ tsp Salt

2 tsp Brown sugar

1 bunch Parsley, chopped

1 Garlic clove, finely chopped

1 Lemon (grated zest and juice)

1 tbsp Honey

½ cup Olive oil

50g Roasted almonds, halved

Salt and pepper to taste

1 kg Potatoes

50g Butter

150 ml Milk

1 Leek, thinly sliced

Pre-heat oven to 150ºC. Brush the lamb chops with olive oil and brown them in a hot frying pan then set aside. In the same pan, add onions, carrots, celery, thyme and garlic; allow to brown. Place the vegetables and lamb in a deep baking tray. Add the peppercorns, salt, sugar. Cover with aluminium foil and place baking tray in oven. Cook for 2 hours, remove aluminium foil and cook for another hour.
For the gremolata, place parsley and garlic in a bowl. Add lemon zest and lemon juice, honey, almonds and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
To prepare the mash, first fry the leeks in a frypan with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.
Peel the potatoes and cut them in half. Cook in boiling water for about 15 mins. Drain the potatoes then mash them with milk, butter and the cooked leeks. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

It’s really important to braise on a low heat for an optimum meat texture.
Braising can also be done in a pan, but all the ingredients must be covered with liquid.