Meat mains
Lamb steak with baked mushrooms, shallots & broccoli
When cooking your lamb make sure the pan is hot: you need the meat to colour deeply in a short space of time without overcooking the middle. Putting a steak in a cold pan will leave you with a grey and unhappy result, with none of the complex flavours that come from browning. Flick a little cold water on the pan; if it disappears in a puff of steam then it’s ready. Oiling the steak not the pan saves the risk of the oil catching alight as you heat it.
Ingredients
- 2 lamb leg steaks
- 2 tbsp capers
- 400g shallots
- 200g portobello mushrooms
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 lemon
- plain oil, e.g. sunflower
- 10g rosemary
- 25g butter
- 75ml white wine
- 300g broccoli
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Preheat your oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Start by removing the lamb steaks from the fridge. Season generously with salt and pepper and leave at room temperature until needed.
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Step 2
Put the capers in a cup of cold water to soak. Slice the mushrooms into 6 wedges, place them in the roasting tray.
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Step 3
Peel the shallots and halve or quarter them depending on their size, keep any small ones whole. Give the two garlic cloves a bash to split them open. Use a peeler to pull 3-4 strips of zest from the lemon. Juice the lemon. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the frying pan. Add the shallots and fry for 5 minutes on a medium to high heat, rolling and stirring until starting to colour all over.
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Step 4
Scrunch a couple of rosemary sprigs in your hand along with the strips of lemon zest. Throw them into the pan of shallots along with the butter. Let the butter melt and begin to foam, tip in the wine and let it come to the boil. The moment it does, tip the whole lot into the roasting tin with the mushrooms. Season well, mix together and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
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Step 5
While the shallots and mushrooms cook, put a pan of salted water on to boil. Wash the broccoli and cut into even-sized florets. Remove the capers from the water and chop them coarsely. Rub each side of the lamb steaks with a little oil. When the shallots and mushrooms are cooked remove them from the oven. Check the seasoning, adjust with more salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the lemon zest, rosemary stalks and garlic skins.
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Step 6
Put the frying pan on to the heat, let it get very hot (see cook's note). Sear the lamb steaks for 2 minutes on each side, until well browned.
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Step 7
Add the capers, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and the remaining butter. Remove the steaks from the heat and tip them on top of the shallots and mushrooms to rest. The juices, capers and butter will mingle with the roasted veg. Drop the broccoli into the boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes until just tender, while the lamb rests. Serve the lamb, mushrooms and shallots with the broccoli on the side.
