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Make The Ninth's lamb with a rosemary salt crust

How do you make rich, juicy lamb meat even better? By giving it a rosemary salt crust, that's how. Jun Tanaka, we salute you

The Ninth's lamb with a rosemary salt crust

Published: Tuesday 18th October 2016

Serves 1

Preparation time 60 mins

Cooking time 15 mins

One of the new restaurants to scoop a coveted Michelin star this year was chef-patron Jun Tanaka's The Ninth, in Fitzrovia. His brand of Mediterranean-influenced cuisine is exquisite: delicate, flavoursome and irresistible – and now you can try it at home, sort of, with Tanaka's recipe for rosemary salt-crusted lamb. You can thank us later.

Ingredients

  • 150g lamb loin, trimmed
  • 1 cup of chicken stock
  • 1 small cup of couscous
  • 1 lemon

Salt crust

  • 250g coarse sea salt
  • 1 egg (white only)
  • 75ml water
  • 200g plain flour
  • ½ bunch thyme, chopped
  • ½ bunch rosemary, chopped

Method

  1. To make the salt crust, add the salt, egg white, water and herbs in a bowl (keeping a small amount of herbs to the side). Add the flour little by little and knead using your hands to form a dough.
  2. Rest the dough for one hour then roll out to ½ cm in thickness.
  3. In a very hot oiled pan, sear the lamb all over. Roll in the remaining herbs and place on the salt crust.
  4. Cut a cross in the salt crust and gently fold the edges around the lamb. Flip over, place in an oven-proof dish, make a small hole in the top of the crust and cook in the oven for about 5 mins at 225°C. To test, insert a metal skewer into the hole at the top of the salt crust and leave for 10 seconds. Place the skewer on your lips, it should feel warm (for medium rare).
  5. To cook the couscous, add a small cupful to a pan with one cup of boiling chicken stock and cook for 5mins before fluffing up with a fork. Add a squeeze of lemon juice.
  6. To serve, crack open the salt crust, wipe the lamb with a clean towel and slice. Serve on a plate with couscous.

22 Charlotte St, W1T 2NB; theninthlondon.com