Today started well, I had not yet finished with breakfast by the time that noon came around. You may suspect that I’m a lazy git that doesn’t roll out of bed until the leisurely hours of the morn, and on some days you might even be right. That, however, is not the case today; I’m an avid believer that a long breakfast is the best breakfast, and this morning I’d chosen to observe this opinion with great candour. Having barrelled out of bed, 9 ante meridiem, I collected The Times, swiped two pastries and a hearty dollop of homemade raspberry jam from the pantry, and filled a cafetière for four, for myself, before stepping out onto the lawn. Oof, what a morning! Sunlight streamed through the yew tree canopy onto the small wrought iron table that sits in the cosy back corner of the garden. Idyllic. On the other side of the hedge a red heifer tried to make some small talk but The Times Magazine had stolen my attention with a feature titled “What the French cook in summer”. Inside, Pierre Koffmann, chef-patron of The Berkeley, London, provides recipes for half a dozen effortlessly delicious summer dishes that he enjoys at home with his family. These include a mouth-watering Leg of Lamb Provençale and a taste bud tickling salmon confit.

Unfortunately, today I won’t be cooking any of Pierre Koffmann’s treats – or anything at all as I will be eating out this evening – but I have been sufficiently baited to schedule a baked sea bass in salt, the article’s magnum opus, for later next week. So what am I to write about now? Well that’s easy, last week’s lamb crown of course. The lamb crown is arguably the best form our ovine friend can take. Not only does it resemble a colossal crown, making it a meal-defining centrepiece, but it’s also great fun to prepare, stuff and carve. Oh, yeah, it’s scrumptious too.

My meaty oculus. I see you!

For those less familiar with dead animal in the shape of a royal headpiece, allow me to explain what the lamb crown actually is. The crown is a rack of lamb chops (the lamb’s ribs) that have been ‘frenched’ and is connected end-to-end producing the crown structure. A rack usually houses about 8 chops. Your butcher can french the rack for you, or, if you want to rob him of the fun, and I recommend that you do, find a quick online guide and wield your knives with care. I would detail the procedure but I didn’t realise that I would be posting about this when I did it, so sadly I have no photos. The jist of the method is that you want to remove roughly three inches of fat and flesh from the end of the rib opposite to the chop eye, across the entire rack. It’s most easily done using a boning knife but any small sharp knife should make short work of it. This should leave you with curved branches of exposed bone and a well-deserved sense of accomplishment. Tasty. Once frenched, connect the rack end-to-end and tie a single piece of twine around the circumference to hold it all together. If you want to supersize your meal, and feed many mouths (or a few big ones), you can connect multiple racks together.

Now, let’s lather up that crown. Paint the exterior with oil and then sprinkle some chopped herbs all over. I decided to plump for the archetypal lamb herbs: mint and rosemary. Season the entire piece with salt and pepper, and be generous about it.

Thrill seeking? Look no further.

The oculus in the middle is begging to be rammed full of tasty treats, so oblige or be ashamed of yourself. I made my stuffing festive. I’m not sorry.

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 large handful of almonds
100g dried apricots, quartered
50g dried cranberries
2 apples, chopped
1 large handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Preparation & Cooking:
1. Fry onion in some oil over low–med heat until they begin to soften, 5 minutes.
2. Add almonds and toast until they begin to brown slightly, 1 minute.
3. Add cumin, cinnamon, garlic and fruits, continue for 2 minutes.
4. Add parsley and season with salt and pepper, continue for a minute.

Pop the crown into a sufficiently sized roasting tray and decant the stuffing from the frying pan into that inviting orifice. Cheeky! Looking good? I hope so.

Stick a foil hat onto the top of each protruding chop bone and cover the top of the stuffing so that there is no burning. Whack it in the oven. Initially, I found it quite difficult to gauge how long the crown was going to need; various recipes will give you different timings. My naked crown weighed in at 3.5 pounds to which I added a rather dense stuffing. After 1 hour and 10 minutes (20 minutes per pound) in the top oven of our Aga, I dished up and fortuitously it was a perfect pink. The top oven of an Aga is about 240°C. An extra 10 – 15 minutes on top of this will take you to a medium done crown. If you want to cook it more than that, you really are wasting your rack of lamb, go away.

The finished article. Perfectly pink.

Once your crown has finished cooking, remove the foil, lift it from the tray – sliding a fish slice beneath so you don’t lose any stuffing – and dish up with the sides (don’t forget a red wine sauce) you’ve been busy preparing in the meantime. You now get to carve, one of the best bits. No fork required. Excusing your fingers, grab the tip of one of the chop bones and allow the carving knife to effortlessly fall through the yummy fat and flesh that connects that chop to the next, watching them peel away from either side of the knife was enough to make me weak in the knees. Work your way around the entire crown, serving each combatant as many chops as they think they can consume. A fatty crown will deprive you of some chop meat but you’ll find yourself rewarded handsomely with flavour.

For all the wonder and awe the crown inspired, it was the stuffing that was the real success story. While the toasted almonds added an extra crunch, the cranberries and apricots lit up the crown like little jewels and brought a sweet edge to the table. Two thumbs up from the parental unit.

I hope you find the time to have a go at this, the frenching of the rack too, as it’s oodles of fun and really not too much trouble if you have a free evening. Enjoy.