Lamb en croûte with redcurrant sauce

Lamb en croûte with redcurrant sauce

Teaming lamb with sage instead of mint is a clever idea for a festive feast - and you can freeze this dish for up to a month

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 40 minsm plus freezing and defrosting

Freezable

Method

  1. Season the lamb well. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry three fillets over a high heat for 5 minutes until seared on the outside. Remove from the pan and repeat with the other 3 fillets. Set aside until cold.
  2. Unravel the whole pack of pastry on a floured surface and cut into four rectangles. Cut the half pack to make two rectangles. Roll out each piece to make the rectangles 2.5cm larger all round.
  3. Position one rectangle with a short side facing you, brush with egg yolk and sprinkle with a sixth of the chopped sage. Put a lamb fillet on the pastry close to the end facing you, then fold the long sides in to cover the ends of the meat; brush these with more egg yolk.
  4. Freeze the lamb parcels on a tray until solid for 4 hours, then pack in a freezer container. Seal, label and freeze for up to a month.
  5. To make the sauce, melt the redcurrant jelly in a pan over a gentle heat, add the port and rosemary and boil uncovered for 10-12 minutes until syrupy. Cool for 5 minutes, strain into a freezer container, then leave until completely cold. Seal, label and freeze for up to a month.
  6. On the day defrost the lamb seam-side down on a wire rack for 3 hours at room temperature. Defrost the sauce at room temperature.
  7. Preheat the oven to fan 200C/ conventional 220C/gas 7. Put the parcels seam-side down on a nonstick baking sheet, brush with egg yolk, then snip four incisions in the top of each. Bake for 25 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and rest them for 5-10 minutes. Reheat the sauce in a pan.
  8. Slice each parcel and serve with the sauce and watercress salad.

Per serving

807 kcalories, protein 33g, carbohydrate 63g, fat 44 g, saturated fat 19g, fibre 0g, sugar 20g, salt 0.97 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2003.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo Sophie Smith

    30 May 2008

    Sophie Smith commented on this recipe

    I tried this with neck fillet but then next time for a dinner party used lamb fillet, much more expensive but made the dish very superior. An easy dish for dinner party as can be prepared in advance and then baked on the night. Very impressive!

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  • Binder photo Ruth

    09 February 2009

    Ruth commented on this recipe

    I substituted blackcurrant jam for redcurrant jam and that worked very well. However, I found that the pastry underneath the lamb was rather soggy. Can anyone suggest why?

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  • Binder photo NOURA

    19 May 2009

    NOURA rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo CloClo

    12 July 2009

    CloClo rated this recipe

    3 stars

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  • Binder photo Sad Chick

    31 March 2013

    Sad Chick rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    I made this for a special Easter Sunday celebration lunch. I used top-quality lamb from an organic butcher I have used for more than a decade. The lamb was bootleather inside the pasty. The only way of making it edible was to remove it from the only good thing in the dish, the pasty case, slice it and fry it. I have never been so embarassed by a recipe I had followed faithfully, but had gone so horribly 'wrong' for no reason I could think off. It had adequate browning and cooked time, it even had some 'resting' time to relax. At 57 I don't expect to be serving up good-looking, if inedible dishes. Sad Chick

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 40 minsm plus freezing and defrosting

Freezable

So easy to serve

Ingredients

  • 6 lamb neck fillets, each weighing about 140-175g/5-6oz , trimmed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1½ x 375g packs, ready-rolled puff pastry
  • 1 egg yolk , whisked with a fork
  • leaves of 6 fresh sage sprigs, chopped

FOR THE SAUCE

ON THE DAY

  • 1 egg yolk , whisked with a fork
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Per serving

807 kcalories, protein 33g, carbohydrate 63g, fat 44 g, saturated fat 19g, fibre 0g, sugar 20g, salt 0.97 g

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