I decided a rack of lamb would be a good idea for dinner after spying rack of lamb with thyme in Larousse Gastronomique. I've mentioned this book before, and I swear by it as a must have if you enjoy cooking. The claim on the back is "The World's Greatest Cooking Encyclopedia".  While this may seem like a big claim, it's well warranted.

I figured some nice potato roshti would go well with it instead of the usual mash. What to do with some broccoli and pumpkin I thought. Well, I came up with the Broccoli Pumpkin mash. It turned out great and really held together the whole meal.

Rack of Lamb with Thyme


Ingredients:
2x racks of lamb, lean
100g bacon
500ml vegetable stock
1.5 to 2 bunches of thyme

Method:


Sweat bacon in a pan large enough to hold the 2 racks. Seal the racks for 4 to 5 minutes, season with salt & pepper. Remove both bacon & lamb from pan. Pour away fat and deglaze pan with 500ml of Vegetable Stock and allow to reduce to 1/4. Chop bacon into small pieces. Put racks into baking dish, cover with thyme and bacon, pour over reduced stock. Wrap in aluminium foil tightly and cook in 240°C oven for 10 minutes.

Remove serve racks with strained juices over top.


Potato Roshti


Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes - Desiree or the like
enough oil to shallow fry roshti

Method:

Really simple, grate potatoes and put in tea towel or cheesecloth. Wring out as much liquid as possible. Form handfuls into circular shapes about 1cm to 2cm thick. Over a medium heat shallow fry the roshti until golden brown on both sides.


Broccoli Pumpkin Mash

Ingredients:
2 medium heads of broccoli, florets and peeled stems
1/4 of a small pumpkin
4 medium cloves of garlic, peeled but not chopped
handful of finely chopped parsley
50g butter
500ml vegetable stock

Method:
Microwave pumpkin, broccoli and garlic in butter for 15 minutes in 5 minute bursts. Keep an eye on them, you want it cooked but not murdered. Once cooked, add all ingredients except the parsley to a blender and blend until fairly smooth. Pour into pot and heat up. Add salt & pepper to taste, add parsley, serve.