Rump of Lamb with Fondant Potato and a Shallot and Thyme Jus

I must admit I'd never heard of rump of lamb until Suzie brought home a menu with it on and I thought I'd give it a try. It's a brilliant cut of meat: cheap, full of flavour and really easy to cook. I got a sodding great lump of it with a bone in the middle which was great as I removed the bone and used it to make a stock with some carrots and bay leaves.

Method:

For the Lamb
Simply take it out of the fridge a good hour before you want to cook it. Season with black pepper then place it in a hot griddle pan. There's a thick layer of fat around the edge so I placed this in first and allowed it to melt off, the fat then added flavour during the rest of the cooking process. Give it about 5 minutes on each side then transfer to an oven at 180c for about 10 minutes while you finish off the rest of the dish.

For the Potato
Fondant potato is a proper cheffy thing to do! Cut the spud to size (I used a metal pastry ring) to about an inch and a half thickness. Melt some butter in a hot, deep, oven-proof pan and brown the potato on both sides, then pour in some chicken stock so that it comes about half way up the side of the potato. Place the pan in the oven at 180c for about an hour and a half to allow the potato to cook.

For the Sauce
Slowly fry finely chopped shallots and garlic (about 8 shallots and 2 cloves of garlic) with a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme in butter until they start to caramelise. Pour in about half a pint of lamb stock and allow to reduce by half. Take of the heat and blend until smooth. Return to the pan, season and keep warm. Just before serving stir in a couple of knobs of butter.

For the Tomatoes
Take a small bunch of cherry tomatoes on the vine. In a bowl mix olive oil, a teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of salt, chopped garlic and some thyme leaves. Coat the tomatoes then place them on a baking tray and place in an oven at it's lowest setting for 2 hours.

For the Spinach
Wash and dry the spinach. Melt a knob of butter in a pan. Add the spinach leaves and grate over some fresh nutmeg. Keep stirring the spinach round, coating it in the butter and nutmeg until it's wilted but without letting it turn into a green mush!