Roast lamb neck fillet on Provencal beans

Makes/serves: 2

You need this:
for the lamb:
2 lamb neck fillets (see TIP 1)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of olive oil
8 sage leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

for the Provencal beans:
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely diced
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 red pepper, stalk off, deseeded and finely chopped
1 red onion, peeled and finely diced
1 tin (400g) pinto beans, drained
600g broad beans (that’s in the pod weight, see recipe instructions )
1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
100ml chicken stock
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of fresh marjoram (or oregano) finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Herb blending attachment on a stick blender, 2 medium saucepans, frying pan, spoon, tongues, small roasting tray and oven at 180⁰C

You do this:
for the lamb, put the garlic, olive oil seasonings and sage leaves into the herb blender and chop to a rough “paste”, smear it all over the lamb fillets and leave to marinate until you need to cook them.

for the Provencal beans, heat the olive oil in one of the saucepans, add the onions, garlic, carrot and celery and cook for a few minutes before adding the tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer, cover with a lid (tomato sauce will get everywhere even if it’s just simmering!) and cook, stirring occasionally until you get a thick tomato sauce of about half the original volume, then season to taste – this will take around 30-45 minutes.
Meanwhile, fill the other saucepan with water and bring to the boil, while this is happening, “pop” the broad beans from their shells (slightly time consuming, but hugely satisfying!) and plunge them into the boiling water for about 2 or 3 minutes, depending on their size. Drain the broad beans and refresh (cool) under cold running water. Remove the beans from their pale green outer shells by inserting your thumb nail into the smooth end, tear a little, and with a gentle squeeze on the other end, a brilliant green bean will emerge and you can discard the shell (see TIP 2).
When the tomato sauce is ready, add the pinto beans, the broad beans and the diced red pepper, stir, cover again with the lid and turn the heat off and the heat and the sauce should warm the beans and pepper through.
Meanwhile heat the frying pan to almost smoking and sear both the neck fillets to colour them, tip everything into the oven dish and roast for about 10 minutes so they are pink in the middle (see TIP 3). Take them from the oven and leave to “rest” and reheat the bean and tomato mixture, carefully stirring so they don’t burn and you don’t turn the beans to mush.
Divide the Provencal bean mixture between 2 plates or bowls slice the lamb and place on top, pouring any roasting juices over the lamb and beans for extra flavour.
Eat! Enjoy!

TIPS 1 Lamb neck fillet is a cheaper (and I reckon, tastier) cut of meat.
2 You can use the broad beans in their shells, but they can be tough and taste a little bitter.
3 When I did my dish, it was warm, and I cooked the fillets on my barbecue to add extra flavour.