SPRING // Recipe for four

Caramel lamb breast, dried lactose, fresh and cooked oats

It’s spring and the paddocks and fields at Pecora Dairy in Robertson are full of young lambs and native flowers. This dish pays homage to the sheep that provide; it’s a circle of life. The sheep eat the oats from the pasture, which in turn provides their young with milk. This dish all comes from the one paddock. Instead of lucerne flowers here you could use violets.

LAMB CARAMEL SAUCE

2 kg (4 lb 8 oz) lamb bones

830 ml (29 fl oz) full-cream sheep’s milk

Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Put the bones in a roasting tin and roast for about 1 hour, turning once, until they have a good dark brown colour. Put the bones in a large pan, add 1 litre (35 fl oz) water and simmer slowly, covered, for 24 hours. Strain and chill the stock for 24 hours and then remove all the fat from the surface.

Put the clear stock over medium heat and reduce slowly until three-quarters of the stock has evaporated. Add the milk and reduce until the sugars in the milk sweeten – the liquid will turn yellow, become more viscous and taste somewhat sweeter. The milk will split – at this point, remove it from the heat and cool slightly. Blend in a food processor to make a thick caramel and bring it all back together. This can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 months.

LAMB BREAST

300 g (10½ oz) iodised salt

80 g (2³/₄ oz) cane sugar

50 g (1³/₄ oz) pepper berries, crushed

1 boneless lamb breast, trimmed

Combine the salt, sugar and pepper berries and rub all over the lamb. Leave to cure for 6 hours in the fridge. Lightly rinse off the cure. Preheat the oven to 88°C (190°F). Put the lamb in a deep ovenproof dish and add enough water to cover the lamb. Cover the dish and roast for 7 hours.

Lift the lamb out of the water and cool on a tray in the fridge. Cut into strips and sear in a chargrill or frying pan over high heat to caramelise. Add to the warm lamb caramel sauce and set aside until ready to serve.

DRIED LACTOSE

1 litre (35 fl oz) full-cream sheep’s milk

20 g (³/₄ oz) pink Murray salt

Put the milk in a shallow frying pan and heat to 58°C (136°F). Hold at this temperature for 40 minutes. Gently remove the skin from the top of the milk and place on a non-stick ovenproof mat. Season with pink salt. Repeat to make 4 skins. Preheat the oven to 75°C (150°F) and leave the milk skins in the oven for 1 hour until dry (note that they will not change colour).

COOKED OATS

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) dried organic rolled (porridge) oats

300 ml (10½ fl oz) chicken stock

1 litre (35 fl oz) full-cream sheep’s milk

60 ml (2 fl oz) toasted garlic oil

10 g (¼ oz) pink Murray salt

45 ml (1½ fl oz) linseed (flaxseed) oil

Put the oats and stock in a pan and leave to soak for about 1 hour. Place over low heat and cook gently for about 20 minutes. Fold in the other ingredients and cook for a further 15 minutes.

ALSO ON THE PLATE

Fresh oats, propagated from seed, 6 days’ growth after germination

Lucerne flowers, propagated from seed, 48 days’ growth after germination or violets

SHEEP CURDS

200 g (7 oz) fresh curds from any good sheep’s milk cheese (or cow’s milk ricotta)