Rack of lamb from Antwerp

Serves two:

• 50 g concentrated butter
• approx. 400 g rack of lamb
• coarsely ground black pepper, salt
• some squeezed garlic
• 2 tbsp chopped leek
• 2 level tbsp French mustard
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 100 ml of water
• 1 ½- 2 tsp corn flour (= 3-4 g)
• 200 g peeled waxy potatoes, sliced
• 3 tbsp whipping cream, salt
• 2 tbsp grated young cheese
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 200 g broad beans (frozen)
• little gem leaves
• basil

What does that mean: Carré d’agneau? We ask the Belgian waitress. “That is a piece of rib of lamb with 7 or 8 scraped bones and we give it with a mustard sauce”, she answers while she is leaning charmingly with her hip on the arm of my table mate. Of course he immediately agrees with everything. Also with the monkfish cheeks as a starter – this lapsed monk.

Soon delightful smells rise from the open kitchen and in the meantime we are edified with Flemish radio messages such as: “Eleven o’clock Eucharistic Celebration, followed by aperitif”. Then a table bell rings and the cook shouts that our table may march. As a matter of fact it marched so well that I’d like to share it with you.

• Fry the meat all around brown in the butter. Add pepper, salt, garlic and leek shreds and fry for a while. Mix mustard, vinegar and water and pour around the meat. Cover the pan, simmer for 15 minutes (the meat should remain pink inside). Remove the meat from the pan, thicken the gravy with a smooth paste of corn flour and water. Add a little more water while stirring until the consistency is to your liking. Keep the meat warm in this sauce.
• Bring plenty of water to the boil for the potatoes. Cook until tender in approx. 8 minutes, drain. In a shallow fireproof saucer spoon over cream with a little salt, top with cheese. Put the washed tomato, notched crosswise on top into another dish. Place the two dishes under the grill until the cheese turns light brown and the tomato has cracked open.
• Boil the thawed broad beans for 5 minutes in an open pan. Drain.
• To serve: put the gravy in an ovenproof dish, meat on top. Garnish the broad beans in another bowl with the lettuce. Garnish the tomatoes with basil. Serve the potatoes as they are (see the photo).

Wine: a Medoc or Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

Menu suggestion:

• Starter: for the cheeks (a piece of cod fillet will do too), bring salted water to the boil with thin slices of carrot and celery and a slice of lemon, cook for 3 minutes. Put the fish in, bring the water back to a boil, turn off. Cover the pan, let it stand for 10 minutes. Sauce: reduce 200 ml whipped cream by half with a pinch of saffron or turmeric. Season with salt, spoon over the fish, next to the vegetables. Let it color under the grill. Sprinkle chopped chives on the vegetables. sprigs of fresh dill on the fish. Wine: Chenin.
• Dessert: ice cream with raspberries and Crème de Cassis.