Mainland Parmesan
Mainland Parmesan polenta porridge
Lamb ragu and Parmesan porcini crunch
Lamb Ragu
Ingredients
- 2 Tbspn olive oil, divided
- 700g lamb shoulder, excess fat trimmed and diced into 5 cm cubes
- 2ea carrots, finely diced
- 1ea stalk celery, finely diced
- 1ea onion, finely diced
- 6ea cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 250ml red wine
- 250ml beef stock
- 1 x A10 tin crushed tomatoes
- 2ea bay leaves
- 1ea sprig fresh rosemary
- 8–10 sprigs fresh thyme
- Flake sea salt and ground black pepper, to season
Method
- Brown the lamb shoulder in a heavy-based saucepan or fry pan.
- Transfer the lamb to a plate and set it aside. At this point, preheat the oven to 150c.
- Add olive oil to the pan & reduce the heat to medium. Add in the onion, carrots, celery, garlic and 1 teaspoon salt.
- Cook, stirring occasionally until the veggies are softened & deeply browned, 10-15 minutes. Add the lamb to pan.
- Stir in the tomato paste & red wine and reduce by half.
- Pour all ingredients into a large braising dish, add the crushed tomatoes cover with baking paper and a lid or alfoil and braise for 2.5 hours @150c.
- Remove from the oven. Remove & discard the spent bay leaves & herbs.
- At this point, you can cool & store it for later use.
Parmesan Polenta Porridge
- 1 Tbspn salt
- 1L chicken stock
- 1 Tbspn dried thyme
- 150g fine polenta
- 100g Mainland Unsalted Butter
- 200ml Anchor fresh Cream
- 80g Mainland Parmesan, fine grated
To garnish
- Chives, chopped
- Parmesan Porcini crunch
Method
- To make the porridge, bring the water to the boil with the salt, chicken stock and thyme.
- Add the polenta and whisk to ensure that no lumps form. Continue whisking until the polenta thickens, reduce the heat and cook for 30–40 minutes. Add the butter and grated Parmesan, and allow to melt into the polenta.
- To Serve –Warm 2 kitchen spoons of polenta and add enough cream and 1tspn of butter to loosen and create a sheen.
- To Finish -Pour the porridge into a bowl, and top with the Lamb Ragu, mushrooms, tomatoes and a poached egg.
- Sprinkle with chopped chives and garnish with Parmesan Porcini Crunch.
Parmesan Porcini crunch
- 100g Mainland Parmesan, diced 1cm x 1cm
- 1tspn Porcini mushroom powder
Method
- Lay diced Parmesan pieces onto a lined tray and place uncovered in the fridge overnight.
- Lay the parmesan cube onto a plate, making sure to keep the pieces separated and cook in the microwave uncovered on high for 40 seconds or until the parmesan has properly puffed.
- Remove from plate and leave to cool.
- Dust Parmesan crunch with porcini powder and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.