Chef Simon Regan works in one of the finest hotels and resorts, not just in Kerry, but in Europe. His food takes its inspiration from the colours of the landscape as well as from local ingredients. This recipe first appeared in the Kerry Food Story, a book about the best food producers in the region.
Serves 4
For the Lamb Shoulder
1kg boned Ring of Kerry lamb shoulder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Goat’s Cheese Beignets
20g chorizo, finely diced
50g goat’s cheese (preferably Dingle Goat Cheese)
20g white breadcrumbs
For the herb crust for the lamb
50g flatleaf parsley, chopped
100g white breadcrumbs
2 knobs of butter
To cook the lamb loin
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
1kg fully-trimmed lamb loin (if you can get Ring of Kerry Lamb, it’s amazing for this dish)
Fresh herbs to garnish
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2. Season the lamb shoulder and place in the oven. After 2 hours, turn off the oven and leave the shoulder to rest in the oven.
2. Prepare the beignets: mix the chorizo and goat’s cheese together, roll into 15g balls, and roll these in the 20g of breadcrumbs. Place in the fridge to firm up.
3. Just before serving, prepare the herb crust for the lamb: blend the parsley, 100g of gluten-free breadcrumbs and 1 knob of butter together. Cook the loin: heat a frying pan to medium heat and add the rapeseed oil.
4. Season the lamb with salt and pepper and gently place in the pan. Cook on a medium heat for 4 mins on each side, add a knob of butter and remove from the heat. Remove the shoulder from the oven and cut off 4 square pieces. Top each with herb crust and place under a warm grill for 2 mins.
5. Preheat a deep-fat fryer to 170C. Deep-fry the goat’s cheese beignets until golden.
6. Slice the lamb loin in 4 pieces, place each in the centre of the plate, add a piece of shoulder and a goat’s cheese beignet. Finish with the juices left over from cooking the lamb shoulder. Garnish with fresh herbs.
Chef Simon Regan trained in some of Ireland’s finest 5-star hotels, before moving to Australia and New Zealand along with stints in New York, LA and London. He now works at the Hotel Europe, a 5-star resort hotel overlooking the Lakes of Killarney.
