Roast best end of lamb with baked garlic

Serves

Now's not the time to mind your Ps and Qs. Just picking up your food in your hands to eat it and having a bone to gnaw on seems more appropriately primitive and let's-get-down-to-basics sexy. If you want to feel even more medieval just chuck the bones into the roaring fire when you've finished with them. See - this is what I meant about other diners getting offended by unbridled behaviour in restaurants. Were you thinking of something else? You can only try this at home. This recipe gives you several little cutlets to gnaw on and it's very garlicky, which is fine if you're both eating it and not breathing on anyone else later.

Now's not the time to mind your Ps and Qs. Just picking up your food in your hands to eat it and having a bone to gnaw on seems more appropriately primitive and let's-get-down-to-basics sexy. If you want to feel even more medieval just chuck the bones into the roaring fire when you've finished with them. See - this is what I meant about other diners getting offended by unbridled behaviour in restaurants. Were you thinking of something else? You can only try this at home. This recipe gives you several little cutlets to gnaw on and it's very garlicky, which is fine if you're both eating it and not breathing on anyone else later.

I used the fresh new season garlic with no skin between the cloves, but any will do.

1 x 7-8 bone French trimmed best end or rack of lamb
Vegetable oil for frying
A few sprigs of rosemary
2 heads of garlic, fresh, new season cloveless heads if possible
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 very large baking or two medium baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
400ml lamb or beef stock (or stock made from a good cube will do)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1tsp thyme leaves

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/390ºF/Gas mark 6.

Wrap the bulbs of garlic in foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour. In an oven-proof dish, layer the onion, thyme and potato, lightly seasoning each layer and arranging the top layer in overlapping slices. Pour the stock over, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour.

Season the lamb, heat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan and seal the lamb on all sides until nicely browned. Remove the foil from the potatoes, place the lamb on top and tear and scatter the rosemary on top. Continue to cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes for pink or leave it in for another 10 minutes for medium.

Serve the lamb carved into cutlets on the potatoes with a whole baked head of garlic each. You can scoop out the baked garlic flesh with a spoon, or squeeze each clove. If you can be bothered with vegetables, have finger leeks with melted butter. Mmmm.