Rack of lamb with potato and cauliflower dauphinois- Jamie Style!!

Today it is my Mum's birthday lunch. I am so lucky to live about 2 minutes walk from the Vic Market so I decided to make her a good old fashioned Sunday lunch!

Rack of lamb:
2 racks of lamb, salt, olive oil, black pepper, fresh rosemary- finely chopped.

Dauphinois:
250mls double cream
250mls milk
4 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced finely
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
a knob of butter
600g of potatoes peeled and sliced 1cm thick
1/2 a large cauliflower trimmed and thickly sliced
Fresh thyme
a handful of parmesan cheese

Method:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Put the cream, milk and bay leaves into a saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, add salt and pepper and throw out the bay leaves. Get a large earthenwear dish and grease it with the butter. Put a layer of potatoes in the bottom, sprinkle some thyme, add a layer of cauliflower, another layer of potatoes and so on finishing with potatoes. Carefully pour over the infused milk and cream. Oil one side of a piece of tinfoil and cover the dish oil side down and place in the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

While the dauphinois is cooking, rub the lamb with plenty of salt and pepper, pat it all over with a little olive oil and place skin side down in a large ovenproof pan on a medium heat to melt the fat- this should take 4-5 minutes. Turn the lamb over in its fat to colour it on all sides. When it is nicely brown, remove the lamb to a chopping board and sprinkle generously with rosemary. Carefully pour any excess fat out of the pan and put the lamb back in fat side down.

Take the dauphinois out of the oven and keep warm. Put you lamb in the middle of the oven and cook for 10-20 minutes. (14 minutes for medium)

As soon as the lamb is in the oven, get a tea towel and carefully push down on the dauphinois to make it more compact. Then remove the foil. Sprinkle the paremsan on. Place the dauphinois in the oven below the lamb and within 10 minutes it will be golden.

When the lamb is done remove it and let it rest for 5 minutes. Turn the oven down to keep the dauphinois warm. Serve with the lamb cut into portions or whole. :)

Recipe from Jamie Oliver's 'Cook with Jamie'.