Stanneylands Hotel, Wilmslow - Thomas Ludecke - Roasted best end of Herdwick lamb

By Cheshire Life on January 20th 2010

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Thomas Ludecke may have been born in Hamburg but it is at the Stanneylands Hotel in Wilmslow where he is lighting up the culinary scene.

He has not only worked at London’s Savoy Hotel but was also one of those responsible for helping Le Bon Viveur in Timperley achieve its Michelin red ‘M’.

He is now head chef at the 2 star AA Rosette Stanneylands Restaurant.

He’s put together a delicious meal especially for Cheshire Life readers.

Roasted best end of Herdwick lamb with spring vegetables, celeriac puree and a tarragon bouillon

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

For the noisette:
12 noisettes of 60g each; best end of lamb
100g butter;
1kg lamb bones
2 carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes;
1 onion peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes;
1 leek peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes;
1 celeriac peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes;
1 stick rosemary;
2 cloves garlic;
1 tsp tomato purée;
2 lts water;
200g lamb mince;
200g egg white;
Salt;
Pepper

For the celeriac purée:
1 celeriac peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes;
1 shallot peeled and finely diced;
1 potato peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes;
200ml milk;
100ml water;
Salt; Pepper; Nutmeg

For the tarragon bouillon:
12 baby carrots peeled
12 baby turnips
6 baby leeks cut into 2 inch pieces
12 head of green asparagus
4 sprigs tarragon, finely chopped
1 punnet pea shoots

Method

For the lamb stock:
Place the bones on an oven tray and roast in preheated oven at 180c until golden brown.When ready take out the oven and place bones into a heavy bottom pan.

Add the prepared vegetables, rosemary, crushed garlic, tomato purée and the water. Bring to the boil over high heat and then turn down heat to simmer for three hours. After the three hours pour through a fine sieve and let cool.

For the consommé:
Place the minced lamb and egg white into a bowl, season well and mix with a whisk to a loose
consistency. Place this mix into the cold stock and bring to simmer over medium heat while stirring every few minutes to avoid burning.

When it comes to the boil there will be a crust on top of the consommé. When this is  happening put aside to cool down.When cool, carefully break the crust and pour the clear consommé through a muslin cloth into a clean saucepan. Put aside.

For the celeriac purée:
Take a heavy bottom sauce pan and place the celeriac, shallots and potatoes into the pan, add the milk, water and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 min or until soft.

When ready, drain off ¾ of the liquid and put into blender, blending to a smooth consistency.When ready place into a clean pan, cover with cling film and keep warm until needed.

For the vegetables:
Take a heavy bottom pan, add water and salt and bring to the boil on high heat.When boiling add the carrots and turnips and blanch for four minutes, then add the asparagus tips and blanch for a further three minutes and then add the leeks and blanch for a further one minute.

When ready take out all the vegetables and plunge into iced water. When cold, drain the vegetables.

For the lamb noisettes:
Heat a frying pan on high heat, add a little oil and brown the noisettes on both sides for two minutes or until golden brown. Add a little butter and baste for a further two minutes. When ready, remove the lamb noisettes from pan and let rest in a warm area for five minutes.

To serve
Take a large deep plate, arrange three lamb pieces in the centre of the plate, heat up the consommé, add the chopped tarragon and vegetables and bring to simmer

When hot, place the vegetables randomly on top of the lamb to create a colourful array, position one quenelle of celeriac purée on top of each lamb noisette and add enough consommé to fill 1/3 of the plate.

To finish, place three pieces of pea shoots on top of the celeriac puree

Members Comments

• Comment by: lyndonjc 22 October 2010 - 16:09

  Thomas has moved on and he's now thrilling the customers of the Swettenham Arms, near Congleton.
  
  www.swettenhamarms.co.uk
  
  Yes that means he's back with the owners of Le Bon Viveur, Jim and Frances Cunningham, who have had the Swettenham for the last 18 years, since leaving Timperley

  Report this comment

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