Saddle Up!

I roasted a saddle of lamb for tonight's dinner. This was from the half lamb I bought for the freezer a few weeks back. I am definitely of the opinion that the saddle is an underrated cut. Ours was just under a kilo and took less than an hour to cook. It was nice and pink in the middle still, and the flavour was brilliant. It had some nice crisp skin on the surface and was tender and juicy to boot.

The Sunday roast is a great British institution, but some weeks the full works is just too much to cope with. Tonight we had some simple steamed vegetables; carrots and runner beans from the organic box, and what are known in my family as 'Nanny Potatoes'. This is one of my late Nan's genius dishes; along with her fabulous meat pies (my favourite) and her crunchy-topped pork chops, which are also much-loved family classics. The whole dish is far, far greater than the sum of its parts would suggest. You can make this with whatever quantities you like, and add a little garlic to the layers if you want. I use 750g potatoes to 1 large onion to feed four as a side dish.

'Nanny Potatoes'

potatoes
onion
butter

Butter an ovenproof dish. Peel and thickly slice the potatoes and put them in a pan. Cover them with cold water and bring to the boil. Drain. Meanwhile, halve and slice the onion and cook in a little butter until soft. I do this in the microwave so they don't colour at all. Layer the potatoes and onion in the prepared dish, seasoning as you go. Pour boiling water into the dish to just below the top of the potatoes. Bake at 200°c for about 45 minutes.