I make - Lamb and potato bake

I started to like lamb when I arrived in UK more than a decade ago (gosh!). In my humble opinion, lamb produced in this country is enough to make any Brit proud. It's no more expensive than beef and the meat texture is a lot better (partly due to the animal age) than other four-legged animals. It can take lots of cooking time and the meat itself remains moist and a superior tender texture without becoming stringy. It's a sheer delight to eat.

Lamb and potato bake

adapted from two recipes by Gennaro Contaldo and Sonia Peronaci

For Lamb stew:

1 kg lamb leg meat in big chunks
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp thyme
1 medium carrot, diced
3 ribs of celery, diced
2 onions, diced
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
20 g of salted anchovy fillets from a can
1 glass of white wine
3 tbsps of tomato paste
Water enough to submerge the meat (1-2 cups)
Juice from half lemon

To finish:
1 cup of Petit pois/garden peas
4 par-boiled potatoes, peeled and sliced

Bread crumbs mixed with grated parmasen, chedder and black pepper

Marinade the lamb with chilli flakes, thyme, salt, black pepper and olive oil for 10 minutes while you prepare the vegetables.

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, grill the lamb chunks all around. As soon as the lamb chunks have produced lightly brown edges, remove the meat from the pan. You may need to do this in several batches depending on the size of the saute pan you've got.

In the same pan, saute the vegetables (carrot, celery, onions and garlic) until vegetables are soft and onions are translucent. Stir in the anchovies. Cook on medium heat until the anchovies disintegrate into the vegetables. At this point, mix in the tomato paste. Cook for a minute or so until you can smell of a slight toasted smell. Deglaze the pan with wine. Bring the pot to a lively boil for a minute.

Pour the vegetable broth base into a cast iron pot, along with the lamb. Add water or stock just enough to submerge the meat. Bring the pot to a boil. Cover the pot, lower the heat to simmer for one hour. Taste, season with salt and pepper. Simmer without lid for 30 minutes.

Lightly oil an oven proof dish, lay a single layer of cooked potato slices. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Scoop in the cooked lamb, petit pois and finish with potato slices on top. Cover the top with a thick layer of cheesy bread crumb. This is optional but does give a nice crunch in the final product.

Bake at 200C for 30 minutes or until the dish is thoroughly heated and the cheesy breadcrumbs have turned golden.