This week’s recipe comes to you with a promising lineage: it was suggested to me by Café Deco’s Anna Tobias, who developed it with her sous-chef Augusta Hood, who first ate it at Le Baratin in Paris. You may be reluctant to do anything with a big bit of lamb other than serve it whole, but let yourself be persuaded, Anna says: this gratin retains all the juiciness, but has the advantage that it can sit happily in the fridge for a few days once fully assembled. No last-minute prep required.
For time-efficiency, make the tomato sauce while the lamb is cooking, and also the aubergine if you have two ovens.
Drink
A medium-bodied red (not pictured!). When Anna tested the recipe for a home kitchen, she served it with Pedres Blanques, a Grenache.
TIP
Anna prefers to buy whole olives and pit them herself as the olives are less waterlogged and more flavourful.
Café Deco’s Lamb & Aubergine Gratin
To serve four
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Preheat the oven to 160C fan. Season the lamb well with salt and pepper and place skin side down on top of all the other lamb ingredients in a roasting dish. Cover with foil and roast for three hours, until tender.
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Strain off the gravy and refrigerate. Discard the onion, garlic and herbs. Flip the lamb and return to the oven for 15 minutes to crisp the skin. Remove and allow to cool.
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Make your tomato sauce. Put the olive oil and garlic in a saucepan on a medium heat and fry the slivers until they just start to colour. Add the tin of tomatoes, season and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low for half an hour. Check seasoning.
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Turn the oven up to 180C. Slice the aubergines lengthwise into 2cm thick slices. Drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil on the base of the baking trays and season the trays with salt and pepper. Lay the aubergines on top in a single layer. Drizzle with another two tablespoons of oil and season the top as well. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until a nice golden brown.
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Once the lamb is cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bone and flake into mouthful-sized pieces. Remove any fat/gunky bits. Mix the lamb with the tomato sauce. Check seasoning.
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Take the lamb gravy from the fridge and scrape off the fat.
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Now it’s time to assemble. Using a 22 x 28cm baking dish, place half of the lamb and tomato mix on the bottom of the dish and ladle over 30ml of gravy. Scatter half of the olives and basil and a third of the grated parmesan on to the lamb. Lay over half of the roasted aubergine slices with a bit of overlap.
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Place the rest of the lamb, another 30ml of gravy, olives and basil on top of the aubergines along with another third of the parmesan.
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Lay the rest of the aubergines on top and sprinkle with the last of the parmesan, then drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
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Reduce the oven to 175C and cook the gratin for 25-35 minutes until the top is golden and it is hot throughout.
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Allow it to sit for 15 minutes before dishing out. Serve with a green salad and bread.
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