Discover the legacy of the restaurant that put the Cape Town suburb of
Woodstock on the map. The Test Kitchen, as the name implies, afforded
Luke Dale-Roberts, the dynamic chef behind it all, the opportunity to
innovate, and the resultant dishes were a reflection of his creativity with
flavours and ingredients. Chef Luke’s vision eventually expanded beyond
the food to encompass the whole dining experience – and the world loved
it. Dive into the experience, and create your very own award-winning dishes
with this recipe from the book. Don’t be scared; be curious. Embrace the
process, and we promise, you’ll love the outcomes.
In Memory of Sunday Roast
Lamb rump, lamb gravy jelly, essence of roast potato, num-num jam, mint gel
Serves: 8
LAMB RUMP
2 x 250g lamb rumps
Maldon salt to taste
150–200ml canola oil
4 sprigs rosemary
4 cloves garlic
30ml butter
NUM-NUM JAM
150g Granny Smith apple, diced
5g orange peel, chopped
400g very ripe num-num berries (alternatively use cranberries)
100g freshly squeezed orange juice
50g glucose
100g elderflower cordial
20g pectin
25g castor sugar
ESSENCE OF ROAST POTATO
500g Nicola potatoes, peeled
100ml melted lamb fat
LAMB GRAVY JELLY
500g lamb bones
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 leek, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 plum tomatoes, diced
2 sprigs rosemary
1 sprig thyme
splash of canola oil
100ml muscadel
400ml port base
400ml lamb stock
1½ leaves gelatine
MINT GEL
½ leaf gelatine
25ml sherry vinegar
25ml water
15g honey
5g picked mint
salt to taste
ASSEMBLY
3 sprigs rosemary, picked
SPECIALIST EQUIPMENT
sous vide machine, vacuum sealer, blender, drum sieve, muslin cloth, hand blender, piping bag, deep-fryer
LAMB RUMP
Set a sous vide machine to 58°C.
Season the lamb rumps well with Maldon salt and place both into a vacuum pack bag with 100ml canola oil, 2 sprigs rosemary and 2 cloves garlic. Sous vide for six hours. Once cooked, plunge the bag into ice water to stop any further cooking.
Just before service, heat the oven to 220°C.
Add as much of the remaining canola oil as needed to a hot pan. Once the oil is hot, sear and caramelise the lamb rumps well on all sides to a dark golden brown. Add the butter and the rest of the rosemary and garlic and coat the lamb in the pan juices.
Put the lamb in the oven for two minutes to heat through. Leave to rest for one minute before carving each rump into four equal-sized slices.
NUM-NUM JAM
Place all the ingredients into a medium pot and cook for 20 to 30 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally with a spatula.
Now remove the lid and continuously stir until thickened, then empty the contents of the pot into a blender and blitz very briefly to just break up the num-nums.
Strain through a drum sieve and store in a sterilised glass jar.
ESSENCE OF ROAST POTATO
Place the potatoes into a pot of cold water, bring to the boil and cook until soft.
Heat the oven to 190°C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Using a fine grater and grating with long strokes, evenly grate the potatoes over the lined tray. Cover the grated potato with the melted lamb fat and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until crisp and golden. Allow to cool before breaking into shards.
LAMB GRAVY JELLY
Heat the oven to 200°C and roast the lamb bones on a roasting tray for about 30 minutes until dark golden brown. Drain off and discard any excess fat.
Meanwhile, in a pot over medium heat, fry the diced vegetables and herbs in a splash of canola oil until caramelised. Deglaze the pot with the muscadel and allow the alcohol to reduce by half.
Add the roasted lamb bones, port base and lamb stock to the pot and leave to reduce over low heat to approximately 300ml of liquid. Strain through muslin.
Bloom the gelatine in ice water until softened, then squeeze out and stir into the warm liquid.
Line a small tray with clingfilm and lightly grease with cooking spray. Pour in the jelly liquid to about 2mm deep and set in the fridge, then portion into 10cm x 3cm rectangles. Leave in the fridge until service.
MINT GEL
Bloom the gelatine in ice water until softened, then squeeze out.
Bring the sherry vinegar, water and honey to the boil in a small pot. Whisk in the gelatine until melted and then remove from the heat. Set in the fridge for one hour.
Just before service, add the picked mint and blend using a hand blender until the gel is bright green and the mint is fully incorporated. Season with salt to taste and store in a piping bag.
ASSEMBLY
Set a deep-fryer to 160°C and fry the rosemary leaves until crisp but still green. Drain on paper towel.
Swipe a tablespoon of num-num jam around a hot plate, creating a perfect circle to frame the dish.
Inside the circle on the left-hand side, plate a slice of lamb rump.
Lean a shard of potato against the lamb and garnish with fried rosemary leaves.
Pipe five dots of mint gel opposite the lamb rump, making each dot smaller than the next.
Finish by placing a lamb gravy jelly on top of the slice of lamb rump. The residual heat will melt the jelly.
Extracted from The Test Kitchen by Luke Dale-Roberts, out now.
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