Loin and shoulder of lamb, parsnips, turnips and rosemary oil

Newcomer at North Norfolk’s Neptune Inn in Old Hunstanton, Kevin Mangeolles shows us a little kitchen alchemy with one of his favourite main courses.

Pink roasted loin of lamb, pan fried shoulder, parsnip purée, buttered turnips and rosemary oil

(serves 4)

Gravy
Bones and fat from lamb loin (if available), chopped small
1 onion finely chopped
2 carrots finely chopped
1/2 head garlic
1/2 leek chopped
3 tomatoes chopped
200ml red wine
chicken stock to cover

Brown the chopped bones and fat (if using) in a hot pan with a little oil. Add vegetables and fry until well caramelised. Next add the red wine and enough chicken stock to well cover. Simmer for 2 hours, removing fat from the top as it rises with a ladle.  Allow to cool for a few minutes. Remove any further deposits off the top of the stock. Carefully strain it through a sieve and reserve liquid, discarding any solids. Reduce down by boiling to a gravy consistency.

Rosemary Oil
50g Rosemary
150g rapeseed oil
5g salt
Pinch sugar

Using a liquidiser, blend all ingredients together until smooth. Set aside.

Parsnip Purée
4 small parsnips, peeled
250ml chicken stock
Milk

Slice parsnips and put in a pan with stock and sufficient milk to cover. Simmer until soft about 15 minutes approx. Strain and mash/process finely, adding some cooking juices to get a soft puree. Keep warm.

Turnips
4 baby turnips, peeled and cut into 4 wedges
150g butter
5g sugar
Pinch salt

Put turnips and other ingredients in a pan, water to cover and place a greaseproof paper cover on top (but no pan lid). Bring to simmer and cook until tender. Remove pan from heat and keep warm.

Savoy Cabbage
Take two tender large leaves and cook briefly until tender in boiling salted water. Put under cold tap to cool quickly. Cut into triangles for garnish.

Roasted loin of lamb
loin of local lamb, trimmed

Pre-heat oven to 170°C. In a very hot pan, seal the lamb in a little oil until browned all over. Cook in the oven for 10 – 12 minutes until pink.

Pan fried leg of lamb
Two thick leg of lamb steaks

Cut lamb into big cubes and quickly pan fry in very hot oil until browned but pink in the centre. Remove from pan and toss in a good splash of rosemary oil


TO SERVE
Place cabbage into turnip pan to warm leaves back up. In the centre of four warmed dinner plates place the parsnip puree. Carve lamb loin into thick slices and place around plates. Dot around cubes of pan fried shoulder, followed by the well-drained turnips and cabbage triangles. Drizzle gravy around.


Chefs Secrets
Now Kevin has made this recipe more user-friendly than his ‘clever’ version to make it easy for us home cooks. But I asked him to let us into his gastronomic world and how he takes what essentially is a simple tasty dish to a higher level. Kevin insists the majority of this dish is about the quality of the lamb, slowly reared by the excellent Little Farming Company at Sandringham. But here is what he does to get the best out of it...
Well firstly the loin element. When Kevin debones and trims it, he dices the fat and caramelises it in a very hot pan. This fat he puts with the loin of lamb, chopped garlic and rosemary into a plastic pouch which is vacuum sealed. He poaches this lamb bag at just 55c for 6 hours. Once that is done, he removes the loin (now tasting roasted but not ‘cooked’) and seals it in a very hot pan. Once carved it is perfectly pink and tender all the way through but has the depth of flavour from a slow roast.
To make the rosemary oil, he actually freezes the mix and then uses a ‘Paco Jet’ a modern tool for making amazing ice creams and sorbets, using a high speed chopper that will actually fully emulsify the herb into the oil.
For the purée, the parsnips are first salted and then frozen before cooking which helps to get a smoother texture by breaking down the flesh. All in all, 21st century gastronomy...


The Neptune Inn & Restaurant, Old Hunstanton
Having taken over the Neptune last Summer on the fringes of quaint timeless Hunstanton, now starting to get a little of that North Norfolk cosmopolitan chic, Kevin and Jacki Mangeolles are extending the culinary trail for foodies westward along the coast.

No stranger to a seaside community, they have moved a long way from the equally charming nautical delights for over 11 years on the Isle of Wight, where they ran the admirable George at Yarmouth, famed for its good food. Indeed Kevin as Head Chef there held a Michelin Star and Three AA Rosettes from 1999 until his recent departure. This followed his career through other British epicurean stalwarts such as Michaels Nook at Cumbria, the Mill House in Kingham, La Tante Claire and Ston Easton Park.
But accolades and reputations come somewhat lowdown in the list of priorities at the Neptune. Of course they would be entirely flattered if they followed and early signs are positive that they might. But for them it is about evolving the place, giving it a gradual facelift, raising the bar gastronomically for their inherited clientele who return summer in, summer out and of course ensuring it is a successful enterprise, now they have taken the risk of not just striding out by themselves, but also moving to unknown territory.

With a natural larder and a plethora of excellent local farmers and producers, they seem to have landed on their feet for the right raw ingredients to do their culinary magic. Wonderful apples and juices from Holme based Drove Orchard, properly reared rare breed Sandringham lamb from the Little Farming Company and of course the excellent local seafood such as Thornham mussels and oysters have already been some of Kevin’s favourite early discoveries.

“Modern European” is how Kevin reluctantly describes his food, preferring no labels, just thinking of it as “good cooking”. Suggesting a signature meal of his current inspiring menu, he chose a starter of pan fried mackerel with a compressed watermelon crab salad and horseradish cream, followed of course by the lamb and ending with a refreshing dessert of rhubarb and cardamom – in guises of a bavarois, a sorbet, poached fruit, sweetened yoghurt and a chocolate cardamom tuile.
But it’s not just about the food, the Neptune provides the other requisites for a rewarding dining experience - welcoming hospitality and efficient service led by the highly experienced Jacki, intimate pretty surroundings in a softly lit quite Gallic feeling room, of course interesting wines and unexpectedly here, no less than 8 food beers, the next big thing.

Watch this place, I’ll stake my editor’s reputation on it… (and I’ve never said that before!) nb As always, don’t tell anyone about my little discovery, I need to be able to get in here next time…

The Neptune Inn & Restaurant, 85 Old Hunstanton Road, Old Hunstanton, Norfolk
T: 01485 532122 W: theneptune.co.uk