Recipe Lamb with clams

Morning Glory

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There's a traditional Welsh dish which pairs lamb with cockles and a fine pairing it is, particularly if the lamb is salt marsh lamb and the cockles come from a nearby seashore. Sadly I couldn’t easily find fresh cockles or salt marsh lamb so I used supermarket ingredients with clams instead of cockles. But anyway, I like the rhyming chime of 'lamb with clams’!

Shellfish with lamb might sound a little odd but trust me, the sweetness of the lamb and salty sweet clams are perfect together. I made a light leek velouté with a subtle curry note to bring the dish together. (leeks being an emblem of Wales). A tiny amount of finely chopped fresh rosemary and some baby mint leaves were sprinkled over and you could add a few chilli flakes, if you wish. The velouté can be made ahead of time and re-heated. One lamb rump will provide more than two portions for this dish, but leftovers can be eaten as a cold cut. The list of instructions may sound complicated but really, its not a difficult dish.

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Ingredients (serves 2)
For the leek velouté:

30g butter
130g leeks, white part only, finely chopped
¼ tsp celery seeds
A scant tbsp of flour
200ml semi skimmed milk (use full fat if you wish)
¼ tsp ground fenugreek
¼ tsp white pepper
A squeeze of lemon juice
Salt to taste

For the lamb:
1 rump of lamb
Dijon mustard
1 tbsp ground black pepper

For the clams:
12 fresh clams (purged)
200ml salted water
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary

Fresh rosemary, mint leaves and chilli flakes to garnish

Method
For the leek velouté:
  1. Melt the butter in a medium sized pan (I use a small chef’s pan) and add the chopped leeks.
  2. Cook gently until the leeks are completely softened
  3. Add the flour to the pan and cook gently for a further minute. Add the milk gradually, stirring as you go.
  4. Add the celery seeds, fenugreek and white pepper.
  5. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Add more milk if required.
  6. Blend into a purée (I use a stick blender).
  7. To finish, add a squeeze of lemon juice and salt to taste.
For the lamb:
  1. Heat oven to 180C.
  2. If there is a thick layer of fat on top of the rump. trim some away, then brush the top with Dijon mustard.
  3. Place the ground black pepper on a plate and roll the top of the lamb rump over it to form a thick crust.
  4. Place the lamb in a roasting dish and cook for 20 minutes.
  5. Remove the lamb from the oven leaving it in its roasting dish. Cover with foil and leave to rest for 20 mins.
For the clams:
  1. Bring the salted water, with the rosemary, to a simmer.
  2. Add the clams and simmer until the shells open up (a few minutes).
To assemble:
  1. Slice the lamb, thinly.
  2. Place velouté in the base of each serving dish.
  3. Arrange 5 lamb slices in the centre of each dish and place 6 clams around the lamb.
  4. Sprinkle frugally with very finely chopped rosemary (use the rosemary from the clams) and mint.
  5. Scatter over some chilli flakes (optional)

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Last edited:
There's a traditional Welsh dish which pairs lamb with cockles and a fine pairing it is, particularly if the lamb is salt marsh lamb and the cockles come from a nearby seashore. Sadly I couldn’t easily find fresh cockles or salt marsh lamb so I used supermarket ingredients with clams instead of cockles. But anyway, I like the rhyming chime of 'lamb with clams’!

Shellfish with lamb might sound a little odd but trust me, the sweetness of the lamb and salty sweet clams are perfect together. I made a light leek velouté with a subtle curry note to bring the dish together. (leeks being an emblem of Wales). A tiny amount of finely chopped fresh rosemary and some baby mint leaves were sprinkled over and you could add a few chilli flakes, if you wish. The velouté can be made ahead of time and re-heated. One lamb rump will provide more than two portions for this dish, but leftovers can be eaten as a cold cut. The list of instructions may sound complicated but really, its not a difficult dish.

View attachment 131287

Ingredients (serves 2)
For the leek velouté:

30g butter
130g leeks, white part only, finely chopped
¼ tsp celery seeds
A scant tbsp of flour
200ml semi skimmed milk (use full fat if you wish)
¼ tsp ground fenugreek
¼ tsp white pepper
A squeeze of lemon juice
Salt to taste

For the lamb:
1 rump of lamb
Dijon mustard
1 tbsp ground black pepper

For the clams:
12 fresh clams (purged)
200ml salted water
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary

Fresh rosemary, mint leaves and chilli flakes to garnish

Method
For the leek velouté:
  1. Melt the butter in a medium sized pan (I use a small chef’s pan) and add the chopped leeks.
  2. Cook gently until the leeks are completely softened
  3. Add the flour to the pan and cook gently for a further minute. Add the milk gradually, stirring as you go.
  4. Add the celery seeds, fenugreek and white pepper.
  5. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Add more milk if required.
  6. Blend into a purée (I use a stick blender).
  7. To finish, add a squeeze of lemon juice and salt to taste.
For the lamb:
  1. Heat oven to 180C.
  2. If there is a thick layer of fat on top of the rump. trim some away, then brush the top with Dijon mustard.
  3. Place the ground black pepper on a plate and roll the top of the lamb rump over it to form a thick crust.
  4. Place the lamb in a roasting dish and cook for 20 minutes.
  5. Remove the lamb from the oven leaving it in its roasting dish. Cover with foil and leave to rest for 20 mins.
For the clams:
  1. Bring the salted water, with the rosemary, to a simmer.
  2. Add the clams and simmer until the shells open up (a few minutes).
To assemble:
  1. Slice the lamb, thinly.
  2. Place velouté in the base of each serving dish.
  3. Arrange 5 lamb slices in the centre of each dish and place 6 clams around the lamb.
  4. Sprinkle frugally with very finely chopped rosemary (use the rosemary from the clams) and mint.
  5. Scatter over some chilli flakes (optional)

View attachment 131288
Sounds and looks amazing! You had me at leek velouté, but wow what a nice pairing with the clams and lamb (and yes it does have a nice ring to it, although I typed it in a different order LOL).
 
Amazing.
That's a wonderfully subtle touch to add fenugreek to the velouté.
You understand! I kept tasting and tasting and I knew something was needed to bring a little earthiness and a more savoury dimension to the velouté to offset the sweetness of the leeks. I stared at my spices wondering, for quite some time.
 
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