Lamb loin with caramelised onions and rhubarb compote

  • medium
  • 4
  • 1 hour 30 minutes
Not yet rated

The Cerea Brothers pair the juicy flavour of lamb with tangy rhubarb and golden caramelised onions in this beautiful lamb loin recipe. Cooking the loin in a water bath before finishing it in a pan ensures the meat retains more flavour, resulting in a tender, succulent texture.

First published in 2016

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Lamb loin

  • 2 lamb loins
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 50ml of red wine vinegar
  • 1 knob of butter
  • vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1 pinch of black pepper

Rhubarb compote

  • 200g of rhubarb, chopped
  • 1 tbsp of sugar
  • 2 tbsp of glucose syrup
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, diced
  • 1 tbsp of butter
  • salt

Onion purée

  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 2 tbsp of butter
  • 50ml of white wine
  • salt
  • black pepper

Caramelised baby onions

  • 44 baby onions
  • 200ml of white wine
  • 100g of sugar
  • 300ml of water
  • salt

Baby leeks

  • 12 baby leeks
  • 4 chives

To serve

Equipment

  • Water bath
  • Bar sealer
  • Vacuum bags 2
  • Blender

Method

1
Begin by preparing the onion purée. Sauté the onions in butter and season with salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with white wine and keep cooking with the lid on for approximately 30 minutes
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 1 tbsp of butter
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • 50ml of white wine
2
Preheat the water bath to 63℃
3
Meanwhile, make the rhubarb compote. Melt the sugar and glucose together in a heavy-based pan and bring to the boil. Add the butter, rhubarb and apple and simmer for 20 minutes, then season with salt and remove from the heat. Leave to cool, covering with clingfilm until ready to serve
  • 1 tbsp of sugar
  • 2 tbsp of glucose syrup
  • 1 tbsp of butter
  • 200g of rhubarb, chopped
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, diced
4
Trim the fat from the lamb loins and cut each loin in half lengthways. Divide the pieces of loin between two vacuum bags and arrange in a single layer, adding pepper, thyme and 200g of the trimmed lamb fat. Seal and cook in the water bath for 15 minutes
  • 2 lamb loins
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 1 pinch of black pepper
5
To finish the purée, mix the remaining butter through the onions until melted. Transfer to a blender and blitz until smooth, then pass through a sieve into a bowl. Check the seasoning and cover tightly with cling film, reserving until ready to serve
  • 1 tbsp of butter
6
Remove the cooked lamb from the vacuum bags and pat dry with kitchen paper. Heat a frying pan over a high heat and fry the loins until golden on all sides, adding a knob of butter to the pan for basting
  • vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1 knob of butter
7
Remove the lamb from the pan and leave to rest for approximately 5 minutes. Add the red wine vinegar to the pan and deglaze, then add a few twists of black pepper to taste and set aside
  • 50ml of red wine vinegar
  • black pepper
8
For the baby leeks, bring a pan of salted water to the boil and blanch the leeks for 2–3 minutes, then the chives for 10 seconds. Plunge both into iced water to stop the cooking process, then drain and leave to dry on kitchen paper
  • 12 baby leeks
  • 4 chives
9
Place the baby onions in a medium pan with the water, wine and salt and bring up to the boil. Drain, then add the onions to a frying pan with the sugar and caramelise until golden
  • 44 baby onions
  • 200ml of white wine
  • salt
  • 100g of sugar
  • 300ml of water
10
Carve the rested lamb loins into rectangular slices, cutting off the crispy meat on the outsides of the loins. Tie the leeks together with the blanched chives to form bouquets
11
To serve, spoon a little of the onion purée onto each plate and top with slices of loin. Arrange the bouquet of leeks and a spoonful of rhubarb compote to the side of the lamb loin and scatter over the caramelised onions. Drizzle over the deglazed pan juices, garnishing with nasturtium leaves and edible flowers
First published in 2016

Roberto and Enrico Cerea were brought up by parents who devoted their lives to culinary excellence. Taking over the family restaurant, they earned its third Michelin star for their signature seafood dishes.

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