Three ethical lamb recipes

Turkish polenta with spiced lamb stew by Jassy Davis for Abel & Cole

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 50 mins
Serves 2

500 years ago the Venetians took polenta (ground corn) to northern Turkey and people there have been eating it ever since. Called kuymak, this dish is a comforting mix of soft polenta, butter and cheese. As if that combo isn’t incredible enough, you’ll top it off with spiced high-welfare lamb stew.

250g diced lamb leg
1 tsp sumac
1 tsp ground cumin
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
½ tbsp olive oil
1 onion
100ml + 750ml boiling water
1 garlic clove
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
150g polenta
35g walnut halves
45g butter
100g feta
A handful of mint, leaves only
50g salad mix

Tip the lamb into a bowl. Add 1 tsp each of the sumac and cumin, a pinch of salt and pepper and ½ tbsp olive oil. Turn to coat in the spices. Warm a pan for 1 min. Tip in the lamb. Fry for 5mins, turning now and then, till browned all over. Lift out of the pan and pop on a plate. While the lamb cooks, peel and finely slice the onion. Peel and grate or crush the garlic clove.

Once the lamb is on a plate, add the onion to the pan. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cook and stir for 5 mins till the onion has softened and browned. Stir in the garlic. Add the lamb and any resting juices from the plate back to the pan. Pour in the chopped tomatoes. Add 100ml boiling water. Cover, bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 40 mins till the lamb is tender. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you think it needs it.

While the lamb simmers, pour 750ml boiling water into a pan. Add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. When it’s boiling, trickle in the polenta, whisking as you add it, till it’s smoothly mixed with the water. Cover and cook over a low heat for 35mins, stirring now and then, till the polenta pulls away from the sides of the pan.

Tip the walnuts into a dry frying pan. Toast for 2-3mins till they smell nutty. Tip onto a board and chop. Add the butter to the polenta and crumble in 75g of the feta. Stir to mix. Taste and season with salt and pepper if you think it needs it. Spoon the polenta into warm bowls. Ladle the lamb stew over the top. Crumble over 25g of the feta and top with the toasted walnuts and mint leaves. Serve with a handful of peppery salad leaves.

Tip: The polenta will probably form a brown crust on the bottom of your pan as it cooks. Leave it to set while you eat your stew, then use a spoon to peel it off the bottom of the pan. Any stubborn bits will come off after being soaked for 30 mins in hot water

1 x organic Coombe Farm shoulder of aged lamb 
3 onions finely sliced
6 garlic cloves 
300ml white wine 
1 tsp. of thyme
300ml stock
4 carrots 
Sea salt 
Freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 100C. Season your shoulder with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper ensuring you rub in well. Place a frying pan on heat and sear each side of the shoulder until brown. Make sure you brown well to ensure the best result. Leave for 10 minutes on high heat.

Remove your lamb from the pan and place in a large oven proof dish, add the carrots, garlic, onions, thyme, wine and stock. Put the lid on the dish and place in the oven, leave for 7 hours turning the joint twice. 

Remove the joint and carrots and put to one side. Sieve the liquid into a jug and pour away the fat layer on the top. Pour the liquid into the frying pan, bring to the boil and reduce to half. Season the sauce with salt and pepper if you think it is needed. 

Slow cooked lamb shoulder with white beans and salsa verde mayonnaise by Daylesford

This is a favourite of head chef Gaven Fuller: “A lovely, rustic, slow-cooked and warming stew that really showcases the lamb. It does involve a little time, as the meat needs to go in the oven first, so that the fat melts through it and it becomes incredibly tender, then its cooking liquid is used to simmer the beans, so that they soak up all its flavour – but it’s well worth it... the salsa verde mayonnaise gives it a real zing – and it seems to be popular with everyone.”

Serves 4

For the lamb

4 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra to finish
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Seasalt and freshly ground black pepper
1.5kg shoulder of lamb, boned and rolled
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 heaped tbsp tomato purée
125ml red wine
1 litre good chicken stock
salsa verde mayonnaise *

For the beans

150g dried white beans
25G butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 carrot, finely chopped (about 5mm)
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
150g baby spinach leaves, roughly shredded
Seasalt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix 2 tbsp of the oil with the garlic, thyme and salt and pepper and then rub all over the lamb. Leave to marinate overnight in the fridge. Soak the beans in cold water overnight, too, then drain. The next day, preheat the oven to 160C. Heat the rest of the oil in a casserole (one that has a lid), put in the lamb and brown on all sides, then lift out and keep to one side. Add the carrots, onion and leek and cook over a low heat for 5mins, until the vegetables have softened but are not coloured.

Add the tomato purée and the red wine and bubble up to reduce the liquid by half. Return the lamb to the casserole, add the stock, and pour in enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a simmer, cover and put into the preheated oven for about 3 hours, until the lamb is very tender.

Lift out the lamb from the casserole and keep to one side (reserving the cooking liquid). To cook the beans, heat the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan. When it’s foaming, add the onion and garlic and cook gently for 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add the carrot and the drained white beans and strain in the reserved cooking liquid from the lamb. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender (you may need to top up with a little water).

Remove from the heat and stir in the herbs and chopped spinach. Taste and season as necessary. Return the cooked lamb to the pan over a low heat until heated through.

To serve, lift out the lamb and slice into 4. Spoon the beans and sauce into a warmed, shallow serving dish or platter. Arrange the lamb on top and drizzle with a little olive oil. Serve with a bowl of salsa verde mayonnaise.

Salsa verde mayonnaise

Makes 500ml

Two classics meet: mayonnaise and salsa verde – the famous Italian green sauce, full of herbs, and made piquant with capers and anchovies.

Once made, this will keep for up to a week in the fridge.

40g fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
20g fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
30g rocket leaves, roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped
3 tbsp capers
4 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
160ml olive oil
4 anchovy fillets
160ml mayonnaise

Mix all the ingredients apart from the mayonnaise in a bowl and leave to stand for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse into one another. Blend to a coarse paste (or do this with a pestle and mortar). Put the mayonnaise into another bowl and slowly whisk in the blended herb mixture, a little at a time. Do this slowly, to avoid the mayonnaise separating. Chill in the fridge until needed.