Pollen Street cookbook: Recipes from braised broccoli to winter Lake District lamb

From the restaurant of the same name, recreate Michelin-star chef Jason Atherton's most-loved recipes at home

Winter Lake District lamb with lamb hotpot and beetroot and blackcurrant puree

Serves 4

Lamb loin and fillet

2 boned short saddles of lamb, about 475g each (loins and fillets separated)
Meat glue, for dusting
Olive oil, for cooking
Sprigs of rosemary
Unsalted butter, for cooking
Maldon sea salt and black pepper

Trim off any sinews from the fillets, then set aside in the fridge. Carefully cut off the fat covering the loins so that the fat remains as whole pieces. Lay out the fat on a chopping board and bang the pieces with a rolling pin to flatten them out. Arrange the pieces of fat side by side on a large sheet of clingfilm to make a rectangle large enough to wrap around the loins. Rub the loins with a little salt. Sprinkle a little meat glue on the rectangle of fat, then place the loins along one side. Holding the ends of the clingfilm, roll up to wrap the fat around the loins and form a neat log. Unwrap the clingfilm, then tie the loin ballotine with butcher’s string.

Put the loin ballotine into a large vacuum bag and vacuum-seal it. Set the bag on a steaming tray and place in a steam oven to cook for 5 minutes. Remove and immediately immerse the vacuum bag in a bowl or tray of iced water to stop the cooking process. Keep in the fridge until needed.

When ready to finish the loins for serving, preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Heat a little olive oil in an ovenproof frying or saute pan and sear the loin ballotine for 2 minutes on each side or until evenly browned. Add some rosemary to the pan, then transfer to the oven and roast for a couple of minutes for medium rare. Leave to rest for a few minutes before serving.

To cook the lamb fillets for serving, heat a little oil in a wide frying pan. Season the fillets with a little salt and pepper, then add them to the pan with some rosemary and butter. Sear for about 2 minutes on each side or until evenly golden brown. As they cook, spoon the foaming butter over them to keep them moist and encourage even cooking. When ready, remove them from the heat and allow to rest for a few minutes.

Lamb hotpot

100g gros sel (grey sea salt)
A few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
1 large garlic clove
20g grated lemon zest
1 boned shoulder of lamb, about 2kg​
Olive oil, for cooking
200g lamb fat
4 large carrots
4 turnips
500g baby silverskin onions, peeled
1 litre lamb sauce 
2 large desiree potatoes
125g clarified butter, melted

Start by making a salt cure. Put the salt, thyme leaves, peeled garlic and lemon zest in a small food processor and blitz together. Tip half the mixture on to a baking tray. Place the shoulder of lamb on the tray and sprinkle the remaining salt cure over the top. Rub the cure all over the lamb with your hands. Cover the tray with clingfilm and set aside in the fridge to cure for 4 hours.

Rinse off the salt cure from the lamb shoulder and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Heat a little olive oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat and sear the lamb shoulder for about 2 minutes on each side or until evenly golden brown. Remove to a tray and leave to cool. Once cooled, put the lamb shoulder into a vacuum bag and add the lamb fat. Vacuum-seal the bag, then gently cook the lamb in a sous vide machine (or water bath) heated to 84C for 8-10 hours. When ready, the lamb should be soft and tender. Remove from the sous vide and leave to cool completely in the bag to prevent the lamb from drying out.

Meanwhile, peel the carrots and turnips and chop into roughly 2cm dice. Heat a little olive oil in a large heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat. Add the carrots, turnips and onions with a little seasoning and fry the vegetables, stirring occasionally, for 8–10 minutes or until tender and golden brown.

Roughly chop the lamb shoulder into 2cm dice. Add to the pan along with the lamb sauce and season well to taste. As soon as the mixture is heated through, remove the pan from the heat. Spoon the lamb mixture into 4-6 individual ovenproof serving pots.

Peel the potatoes and thinly slice them on a mandoline. Pile the slices into short stacks and stamp out neat discs with a 3cm round pastry cutter. Working quickly, before they discolour, arrange the potato discs, overlapping, on top of the lamb mixture in each individual pot. Brush the potatoes generously with clarified butter and season well with sea salt.

When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas mark 3. Place the pots on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, turning the pots every 5 minutes to ensure that the potatoes colour evenly. The lamb hotpots are done when the potatoes are golden brown and tender when pierced with a skewer or the tip of a knife.

Beetroot stained cabbage

1 hispi cabbage
1 bottle beetroot juice (we use ‘Beet It’)

Trim off the base of the cabbage and separate the leaves. Trim the hard stalk from each leaf, then place the leaves in a pan. Pour over the beetroot juice and bring to a simmer. Partially cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until the cabbage leaves are tender and stained purple colour. Leave to cool completely in the juice.

Beetroot and blackcurrant puree

7 purple beetroots
250g blackcurrants
150ml red wine
150ml port
50ml raspberry vinegar

Peel and coarsely grate the beetroots, then place in a pan with all the other ingredients. Bring to a vigorous boil and cook, stirring the mixture every once in a while, until the beetroot is soft and the mixture has reduced to the consistency of jam. Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender and blitz until smooth. Season to taste. Pass the puree through a fine sieve into a clean pan, ready to reheat for serving.

Purple carrots

2 bunches of baby purple carrots, trimmed
A few knobs of unsalted butter

Blanch the carrots in a pan of boiling salted water for about 3 minutes or until they are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the carrots to a bowl of iced water to cool them quickly and preserve their colour. When you are about ready to serve, lightly season the carrots, then reheat them in a pan of foaming butter for a couple of minutes, tossing occasionally, until warmed through.

Assembly

A handful of baby bull’s blood leaves with stems on
Vinaigrette 
Mint Sauce 

Slice the lamb loin ballotine thickly and place 2 slices on each serving plate. Cut the lamb fillets into individual portions and wrap each portion in 1-2 beetroot-stained cabbage leaves. Add this to each plate followed by a neat spoonful of beetroot and blackcurrant puree and a couple of purple carrots. Dress the baby bull’s blood leaves with a little vinaigrette and garnish the plate with a few leaves. Bring the dish to the table with an individual lamb hotpot and a small serving jug of mint sauce on the side.

Braised broccoli with broccoli puree, seaweed powder and toasted almonds

Serves 4

Braised broccoli

1kg heads of broccoli
A knob of unsalted butter, for emulsion
Seaweed powder (see below)
Maldon sea salt

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and have ready a bowl of iced water. Quarter the broccoli head, cutting through the stalk, then cut the florets from their stems. Set the florets aside for the seaweed powder. Peel the tough skins from the stems (still attached to the stalk) to reveal the tender core. The peeled stem quarters will now resemble corals. (Save any broccoli leaves and trimmings for the seaweed powder.)

Blanch the broccoli stem quarters in the boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes or until just tender but still green. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to transfer them to the bowl of iced water (this will stop the cooking process and retain the colour). Once cooled, drain well, then lay the stem quarters out on a tray lined with kitchen paper to dry. Keep in the fridge until needed.

Before serving, warm up the blanched broccoli quarters in an emulsion of salted water and butter. When heated through, use tongs to transfer them to a plate, then dust liberally with seaweed powder.

Seaweed powder

Broccoli leaves and trimmings (see above)
100g instant dashi powder
2 sheets of nori

Blanch the reserved broccoli trimmings (including the florets) in boiling salted water for about 3 minutes or until tender but still green. Drain and refresh in a bowl of iced water, then drain again. Spread out on a tray, then dry in a dehydrator for about 6 hours or until completely dried out but still green.

Put the dried broccoli trimmings into a spice grinder and add the dashi powder. Tear the nori sheets into smaller pieces and add to the grinder as well. Grind to a fine powder. Store in an airtight container (the powder can be kept for a week).

Broccoli puree

1 large head of broccoli, about 1kg
100ml double cream

Cut off the broccoli florets, then cut them into smaller florets. Trim off any woody parts of the stem and peel it, then chop the stem into small pieces. Blanch the florets and stems in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes or until tender. At the same time, bring the cream to a simmer in a heavy-based saucepan, then simmer to reduce slightly.

When the broccoli is tender, use a slotted spoon to transfer the florets and stems to a blender. Pour in the hot cream and add a pinch each of salt and pepper. Blitz to a smooth puree. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Pass the puree through a fine sieve into a bowl. Leave to cool completely, then cover and keep in the fridge until needed. Reheat for serving.

Toasted almond flakes

250g unsalted butter​
200g flaked almonds

Melt the butter in a heavy-based pan until foaming. Add the almonds and toss to coat. Toast over a medium heat, tossing occasionally, until the almonds are a light golden brown. Tip on to a tray lined with kitchen paper and sprinkle with a little sea salt. If preparing ahead, store the cooled toasted almonds in an airtight jar.

Assembly

Lemon puree

1-2 tablespoons chopped toasted almonds
2-3 sheets of nori, very finely shredded
A handful of wood sorrel leaves
A handful of smoked almonds
Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle

Pipe a line of lemon puree in the centre of each serving plate and top this with a little chopped toasted almond. Place a blanched broccoli quarter on one side of the line and a neat quenelle of broccoli puree on the other.

Garnish the broccoli quarter with nori strips and wood sorrel leaves. Top the broccoli puree with 5 toasted almond flakes. Garnish the plate with 5 smoked almonds. Finally, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil around the plate and serve immediately.

'Pollen Street' by Jason Atherton is published by Absolute Press, £50