Frugal Recipes

Check out this amazing recipe for rolled breast of lamb with garlic mash and savoy cabbage - for 99p per person!

Recipe #17: Rolled breast of lamb with garlic mash and Savoy cabbage (serves 5)

In our brand new Frugal Recipe series, we'll be looking at cheaper cuts of meat and cheaper, more sustainable fish and how to make them into some fantastic meals over the next couple of months.

I'll be showing you some recipes that are great alternatives to (and in my opinion equally delicious as) the more expensive pork chops, chicken breasts and un-sustainable cod options.

In this week's recipe, I'll be using breast of lamb. This really is a frugal cut from the animal and it really shouldn't cost anymore than £2.20 per kg from the local butchers. It takes some love and attention to get bang on and don't be scared of the fat on the cut - we'll cook it slowly so the fat renders down and stuff with lemon and thyme to help cut through the fat. Trust me.

Ingredients

1kg of breast of lamb from local butchers (£2.20)
1 lemon (30p)
1 bulb of garlic (30p)
1.5kg of Tesco value potatoes (99p)
25g of fresh thyme (68p)
1 Savoy cabbage (50p)

The cupboard staples...

Salt, black pepper, 1 vegetable stock cube and olive oil.

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at Tesco, where it came to £4.97 - that's 99p per head!

Instructions

Let's get the lamb prepared first as it needs some time in the oven. So, pre-heat the oven to 160C. Place the lamb skin side down and season with salt and black pepper. Then, finely chop the thyme, two gloves of garlic and the peel of one lemon. Scatter over the breast of lamb and then add a dash of olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon.
Now for rolling the lamb! It's tough to explain so I've found a great picture guide here.
Once the meat is ready to go, get an oven proof pan on the heat, season the outside of the lamb and give it a small drizzle of oil. Now put it in the pan and brown on all sides, once browned pour in about 200 ml of vegetable stock (white wine is better if you have it), add the rest of the garlic cloves (unpeeled as for the mash), cover with a lid and cook for around 75 minutes in the pre-heated oven.Take the lid off for the last 25 minutes of cooking and turn the oven up to 175C.
All you need to do now is cook the potatoes and cabbage a little before the lamb is due out of the oven - 1.5kg of potatoes is ample for 5 people. Just cook and mash as you would normal mash but squeeze out the oven cooked garlic, mix into the mash and season.
For the cabbage I feel its best served lightly steamed (3-4 minutes) with a little seasoning. For the serving of the lamb remember to let it rest for 10 minutes when you get it out of the oven before serving. Then just cut across into slices and serve with a little of its own gravy. Happy eating!

A bit about our Chef, Paul Warburton

Paul Warburton, a lovemoney.com staff member, had a hectic career in the world of hot kitchens and screaming chefs before joining the lovemoney.com products development team.

During these years, under the tutorage of some great chefs, he honed his skills in cooking for numbers within a tight cost and portion-controlled environment.

Now he's planning to regularly offer his help to all budding chefs in the lovemoney.com community, so you can enjoy his original, low-cost recipes with your family and friends every Saturday for free!

What lovemoney.com readers have said about Paul's other recipes

"We enjoyed this recipe very much: easy to make and even easier to eat!" varneyrob

"I made this recipe and it was absolutely delicious! Seriously good! Five of us feasted on it, and feasted well..." Ibeshy

"I made this recipe on Saturday night, and my 13 year-old son promptly requested it again for the following night!" Malcolm Wheatley

"This is a cracking risotto recipe. Just had it for lunch & it's a winner. More recipes please. Thanks." SavvyLass

"Another delicious offering from Paul. Thank you - keep 'em coming!" Palefire

Please add your own comments using the comments box below!

If you like this recipe, why not also try Paul's other frugal recipes: Lemon & rosemary chicken thighs | Thai Pollock curry with egg noodles | Chunky pea and ham soup| Spaghetti alla carbonara | Pork stroganoff | Green chilli meat balls, sunflower seed couscous salad and mint yoghurt | Tagliatelle with air dried cured ham and minted peas | Beef, thyme and mushroom loaf with potato dauphinoise | Mixed bean and coriander green curry with fragrant rice | Egg Florentine with smoked cheddar and rocket salad | Beef, mushroom and thyme pie | Spicy tuna, bean and coriander lasagne | Beef koftas with a feta, spinach and fresh mint salad | Chorizo and pea risotto | Sausage and rosemary hotpot | Beef & thyme (Lacashire) hotpot