Lamb Baguette with Fresh Mint Sauce and Endive, Apple and Walnut Salad

Lamb and mint is one of my favorite combinations and one I hadn't really discovered before making it to the UK. You can buy mint sauce in a jar, but nothing really beats fresh mint. I put it with a little side salad. If you can find it, I highly recommend a lemon-infused olive oil for the vinaigrette. This sandwich is another one out of "One Perfect Ingredient".


400 g lamb neck fillet
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 baguette, halved lengthwise
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
50 g sugar
50 ml white wine vinegar
1 cup mint leaves, fresh picked from one large bunch

First, make the mint sauce. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a small pan over a low heat, then bring to the boil and boil for 5 minutes. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. Add the mint leaves and blitz with a handblender until roughly chopped. Set aside.

Cut the lamb into 1cm thick slices on the diagonal. Season well. Heat some oil in a frying pan over medium to high heat and cook the lamb slices until well seared on both sides, about 5-8 minutes. (KEVIN'S NOTE: Alternatively, you could pan sear the whole neck fillet whole (instead of in slices) searing on each side until cooked to medium-rare. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting into slices)

Meanwhile, get the grill hot. Remove the lamb from the pan and let it rest in a warm place for 5 minutes or so while you toast the cut sides of the baguette under the grill.

Place the lamb slices over one half of the bread. Drizzle with the pan juices and mint sauce, then top with the other half of the bread. Cut into quarters and serve.

The Salad

2 endive, cure removed and leaves separated
2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon-infused
¾ tablespoon white wine vinegar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 apple, cut into several slices
¼ cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Toast the walnuts in a hot pan until fragrant and starting to brown a bit. Remove from the heat, roughly chop, and set aside.

Make the dressing by combining the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and beating vigorously until it emulsifies. Set aside.

Sear the endive off in a hot, dry pan for 30-45 seconds until hot but not yet starting to wilt. Take off the heat and combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mixing by hand to dress. Serve.