Lamb traybake with Tenderstem and salsa verde

You know, I’ve said it a gazillion times – I love a traybake. I am slightly addicted. I love the ease of chucking things in a big roasting pan with some olive oil, maybe some whole cloves of garlic, or some herbs, letting the ingredients do their thing. The flavours combine together as they cook and there is always some nice caramelisation going on – along with some form of juices / sauce. I adore chicken and salmon traybakes, but this lamb one is pretty special too.

Broccoli, steamed, I feel is just a very ‘meh’ way of getting one of your five a day. But roasted? And, even better, roasted Tenderstem? DIVINE!!I have a special place in my heart for roasted Tenderstem. When it’s slightly charred on the floret but tender in the stalk, I could eat it like this every day of the week. The salsa verde on the side makes a punchy contrasting flavour to the richness of the lamb chops. This is a seriously nice dinner. It’s so quick and easy it’s doable for a weeknight but equally, I reckon it’s special enough for entertaining.

Tenderstem asked me to come up with a recipe, to highlight the growing season, which is June to November. So get it now whilst it’s bang in season. Why not use their map to find out where it is ‘sown, grown served and celebrated’?

Ask your butcher to cut the lamb chops thin. Like, no more than 2cm. We eat them like this in Spain, where they seem to cut them really thin all the time. The crispy fat is the best bit and the salsa verde really compliments and cuts through the richness.

Serves 4 people
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 35-45 minutes
Total time: 40-50 minutes

Ingredients: 
10 skinny lamb chops – thinly sliced from the butchers
750g new potatoes, like waxy Charlottes
300g Tenderstem broccoli
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
About 5 cloves of garlic, unpeeled but bashed with a knife to break into it a bit
Salt and pepper

Salsa verde:
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Handful basil, chopped roughly
Handful parsley, chopped roughly
2 tablespoons of capers
150g tin of anchovies, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, crushed or grated

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Halve the potatoes and place in a large roasting tin. Toss in oil and season. Roast for 15 minutes.
3. Make your salsa verde by chopping and mixing everything and setting aside.
4. Add the broccoli, toss, and bake for another 15 minutes, until almost done. Remove from oven, turn up heat to 250C. Wait 5 minutes.
5. Pop lamb cutlets on top of the roasted veggies, and season them. Roast on a high heat for about 12-15 minutes, until done and nicely browned.
6. Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving, as the meat needs to rest a little.
7. Serve alongside the salsa verde.