Rick Stein’s Cornwall episode 15: As Rick’s Cornish odyssey comes to an end, he takes a city break in Truro, where he discovers an unusual ghost story and tours the magnificent cathedral.
Deep in the Cornish countryside is a family passionate about offal, who prepare Rick a delicious meal of pickled ox tongue and beef heart tacos. In Cornwall’s most northerly parish, Rick tells the story of an eccentric vicar, Robert Stephen Hawker, who would retrieve and bury the bodies from nearby shipwrecks in his church, and who is credited with writing what has become Cornwall’s unofficial national anthem.
In this new series Rick Stein reveals the Cornwall that he knows and loves: a unique part of the British isles with a strong sense of identity and a history rooted in its Celtic past. With his famous natural inquisitiveness, Rick shares the road less travelled – championing the food, history, music, art and culture of the county many locals argue should be a country in its own right.
Rick Stein’s Cornwall episode 15 recipe:
Butterflied lamb with herby lemon and paprika marinade
This leg of lamb can be cooked on the barbecue or in the oven. Serve simply with potato wedges and greens for a laid-back meal with friends. Reduce the dried red chilli flakes if you prefer a milder marinade.
Method:
- To prepare the lamb, turn the leg over to the point where the bone runs closest to the surface. Using a sharp knife, split the meat along the bone and ease it away from the bone along both sides, leaving the bone as clean as possible. At the fatter end of the joint, there is a group of smaller bones, so continue to cut around them too until you can lift all the bones from the meat and are left with a butterfly shaped, bone-free joint. Trim away any excess fat and sinew. Lay a piece of cling film over the meat and bash the surface with a rolling pin to flatten the thick sections lightly. The meat should be an even thickness throughout.
- Mix the marinade ingredients together. Rub the marinade all over the lamb and set aside in a roasting tin, skin-side up, for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 222C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
- Roast the lamb for 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and roast for a further 15 minutes. This will give you pink lamb, if you would rather it slightly less so, cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover with foil. Rest for at least 15 minutes. Place on a board before carving into thick slices.
- Serve with potato wedges, steamed green vegetables and some of the meat juices.