Rack of lamb with béarnaise sauce

Get the lamb on first as it can roast and rest while you make the béarnaise sauce. When I have excellent meat, like free range Karoo lamb, I do as little as possible to it. I always seal my roasts, so I start by adding some olive oil to a hot pan. I salt the meat lightly and I sear it on all sides in the hot oil to seal. Then pop the lamb into an ovenproof roasting dish and into a 180 degree Celsius oven it goes. I prefer my lamb medium rare, so I cook it until it’s 55 degrees Celsius in the middle (if you do not have a meat thermometer, invest in one – it’s the only way of really knowing what’s going on inside a roast). If you prefer it medium, take it to 62-66 degrees. Once the lamb has reached the required internal temperature; remove, cover with tin foil and set aside to rest for at least 15 minutes.

In the meantime make the béarnaise sauce. Add the vinegar, wine, water, peppercorns, shallots and bay leaf to a small pot and boil, uncovered, until the liquid has reduced to two tablespoons – it takes about 7 minutes. Remove and pour through a tea strainer to remove all the solid bits. Discard the solid bits, you just want the liquid. Allow the liquid to cool a bit.

Place your eggs in a heatproof bowl, add the cooled, reserved liquid and whisk. (Now traditionally one would use a balloon whisk. But life is too short for sore biceps, I use my trusty ancient electric handheld mixer.) Place the bowl over a pot of gently simmering water and whisk constantly until the eggs become pale, fluffy and start to thicken – it takes 4-5 minutes. Very NB: The bowl must not touch the water and the water must barely bubble. If it’s too hot, you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. If you feel the bowl becomes too hot while you’re whisking, remove it from the heat for a few seconds.

Next add the butter, a block at a time, while constantly whisking – you can see why I go the electric route! Ensure that each block is fully melted and incorporated before you add the next. It seems impossible for such a small amount of egg mixture to take all that butter – believe me, it does. The gradual addition of the butter and all that whisking will thicken the béarnaise beautifully. Once it’s all incorporated, remove from the heat and whisk for a further 30 seconds. Add the chopped tablespoon of tarragon and chervil, and add lemon to taste. The lemon is optional, but don’t go overboard, a teaspoon or two tops.