Crispy Lamb & Veggies

I try to be organised so that when we have a large flight of locks to do I don't then have to cook dinner from scratch. On Sunday I put a casserole on the fire to slow-cook lamb and veggies ready for Monday. It only took me half an hour to finish off once we'd moored up for the night and was delicious with a bottle of Shiraz.

Crispy coated breast of lamb with veggie stew

1 skinless, boneless breast of lamb – Asda & Tesco have good pre-packed ones

2 peeled carrots, chopped into bite sized pieces

2 cleaned and sliced leeks

1 bay leaf

1 clove garlic sliced

sprig of fresh or pinch of dried thyme

1 Knorr lamb stock cube

100ml white wine

Dijon mustard

Fresh breadcrumbs

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 clove garlic crushed

Olive oil

2 large potatoes

Put veggies, garlic and bay leaf into a cast iron casserole dish.

Slice the breast of lamb into pieces about 3ins. square and lay on top of the veggies.

Sprinkle with dried thyme.

Dissolve the stock cube in about 300ml boiling water, mix with the wine and pour over the meat.

Cover with a tight fitting lid (or foil) and either cook on top of fire for 4-5 hours or in an oven Gas 3 for 2 ½ hours till the lamb is very tender.

Take the lamb out and put on a plate and cool the veggies (best done in fridge overnight).

When cold take off any surface fat from the veggies.

Lay the meat on a roasting tray and brush plenty of Dijon mustard all over.

Mix breadcrumbs and herbs in a bowl and add a splash of olive oil to bind them together a bit and help them to crisp up.

Roll mustard coated lamb in breadcrumbs and bake in a hot oven (Gas7) for about 20 mins. till crispy.

While the lamb is crisping up, peel and chop the potatoes and cook in the same pot as the veggies for about 20 mins. or alternatively serve veggies with the meat and boiled new potatoes.