Guest recipe by Emberz executive chef Simon Henry

Serves 4

Ingredients

Lamb

x2, 8-rib Blue Sky Butchery rack of lamb
5ml canola oil
Salt and pepper

Mint béarnaise

1 T white vinegar
2 egg yolks
2 T water
150g butter, melted
6 whole black peppercorns
Salt and pepper to taste
4 mint stalks, bruised
3 T mint leaves, chopped

Braised peas and cos lettuce

15g butter
2 fresh small cos lettuce, each cut into 6 wedges
100g bacon, thinly sliced
75ml white wine
1 small onion, thinly diced
170ml chicken stock
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Mint leaves
2 c frozen peas

Method

1. Put all béarnaise ingredients except the egg yolks, butter and chopped mint leaves in a small pan and simmer until reduced by half. Strain the liquid into a bowl and discard the solids. Place the egg yolks and vinegar reduction in a food processor and blend until light and frothy doubling in size. With the processor still running, slowly drizzle in the hot butter to make a thick sauce. Add the chopped mint leaves, season with salt and pepper and process again, tip into a bowl, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
2. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Heat an ovenproof sauté pan with canola oil, season the lamb rack with salt and pepper, place the racks in the hot pan, sealing and caramelizing all sides. Roast the racks in the oven for 8 minutes then turn the racks over and roast for a further 8 minutes for medium rare. Once lamb racks are cooked transfer to a warm plate, cover loosely with tin foil or clean cloth and let rest for 8 minutes.
3. For the peas, melt the butter in a saucepan add the bacon, onions and garlic and cook until the onions are transparent and tender. Add the peas, lettuce, white wine and chicken stock and bring to the boil; simmer until the peas are cooked. Add the mint leaves just before serving.
4. Slice the lamb racks into individual cutlets. Divide the peas and lettuce between serving plates and top each plate with four lamb cutlets and a spoonful of mint béarnaise.