Jonathan blogged about Mark Greenaway’s his new beer pairing recipes to try at home and we’ve got one of them for 5pmer’s to give a go: Rack of Mutton with Whisky Beer Glaze & Nettle Herb Crust (serves 4).

Ingredients

3 x 3 bone mutton rack, French trimmed, fat removed

For the nettle and herb crust:

25g French parsley, roughly chopped

25g chives, roughly chopped

25g coriander, roughly chopped

25g parsley, roughly chopped

50g nettles, picked, blanched and refreshed in ice cold water (pick the nettles with gloves but once they have been blanched the sting will be gone)

125g butter

1/2 medium onion, finely diced

250g panko breadcrumbs

150g isle of mull cheddar, grated

2 egg yolks

For the whisky beer glaze:

660ml Tennent’s beer aged with Oak Whisky

100g caster sugar

20ml liquid glucose

1 sprig rosemary

1 clove garlic, skin on and crushed

For the vegetables:

1kg fresh peas and broad beans

12 spears asparagus

2 baby gem lettuce, cut in half

To assemble:

1 clove garlic, crushed

20g butter

Method

To make the nettle herb crust:

• Melt the butter in a pan, add the onion and sweat for 3 minutes
• Add half the breadcrumbs, half the herbs and all of the nettles and cook for 2 minutes
• Add breadcrumbs and herbs to separate bowl and mix in onion mixture
• Add mixture plus cheese and egg yolks to blender and blend until smooth
• Roll out the mixture between 2 sheets of greaseproof till 1/4cm thick and chill in the fridge

For the whisky beer glaze:

• Place all of the ingredients in a pot and reduce by half
• Pass through fine sieve and chill until cold

For the vegetables:

• Blanch the peas and broad beans for 20 seconds in boiling water
• Blanch the asparagus in lightly salted water for 2 minutes and refresh in ice cold water

To cook the mutton:

• Preheat the oven to 180C
• Heat up a drizzle of rapeseed oil in a non-stick pan to a medium even heat
• Season the meat liberally with salt and brown the mutton racks all over
• Place in oven for 8 minutes
• Remove from oven and brush with the glaze
• Place herb crust over each rack (meat side up) and place back in the oven for a further 3 minutes
• Take out of the oven and rest in a warm place till ready to serve

To assemble:

• Melt the butter in a pan with the garlic and add the baby gem lettuce cut side down
• Once the baby gem has coloured remove from the pan and place in oven the oven at 180C to finish cooking for 3 minutes
• Add the peas, broad beans and asparagus into the pan to warm through
• Assemble the dish as per the image

If you don’t fancy cooking yourself, you can visit Restaurant Mark Greenaway with 5pm Dining, £18 for 2 courses on market menu – menus and booking here.