Minted Saddle Of Lamb With Laverbread Sauce

FOR THE SAUCE
1 225 gram can laverbread;
-(8oz)
Grated rind and juice of 1
-orange
Garlic; to taste
Grated nutmeg; to taste
Salt and pepper

TO GARNISH
Mint leaves; orange slices
; (optional)

Put about two thirds of the mint, stalk and all under the flaps of the
saddle and fold the flaps under to enclose the mint. Make a series of small
pockets between the skin and flesh, rather than deep into the meat. Stuff
these with mint, too, but in this case use just the leaves rather than the
stalks. Reserve a few nice mint leaves for the garnishing. Slivers of
garlic can be incorporated into these pockets. Leave the prepared saddle in
a cool place, but not the refigerator, for at least 5 hours so that the
flavours can permeate. (On a weekend you could do this the night before).

Preheat the oven to Gas MarK 4/350 ?F/180 ?C.

Put the saddle on a small rack that will fit in your roasting dish and put
directly into the preheated oven. The rack is vital – if you do not use
one, the underneath of the meat will stew rather than roast. If you like
meat which is cooked through, cook for 20 minutes per pound(450g); for meat
which is pink 15 minutes per pound (450g) is adequate, as long as the joint
was at room temperature when you began to cook it and as long as you do not
leave the oven door open while basting.

Half-way through the cooking time, heat the vermouth to boiling point and
pour it over the saddle. From then on you should baste well every
half-hour.

The prepared laverbread is now simply mixed with the grated rind and juice
of the orange, and further flavoured with generous quantities of
garlic,grated nutmeg, salt and pepper, to your individual taste. Simmer
gently to soften the rawness of the peel and garlic; then set aside.

Once the meat is cooked, take it off the rack, recover any mint from under
the flaps and save it; then cover the joint lightly and let it stand for
15-20 minutes. Pour off the fat from the pan, place over a medium heat, add
the mint from the meat and scrape the bottom. As soon as you have arich
brown colour, boil for a little longer and then strain, pressing out all
the juices from the mint.

Before serving, whisk in some knobs of butter to shine and thicken the
sauce somewhat. Reheat the laverbread sauce and pour around the meat.

Garnish with mint leaves and orange slices, if you like. Carve along the
length of the saddle in long slices and serve with the minty sauce.

Dribble more goose fat over the apples and bake in an ovenproof dish at the
bottom of the oven for 30-45 minutes – they should be only just done when
the goose is ready.

Once the goose is ready, take it from the pan and leave to stand, covered
lightly, for at least 15 minutes, so that it sets nicely. Pour off the
remaining fat from the pan and add any accumulated cooking juices to the
giblet-marinade gravy, and reduce this further so that there are a few
spoons of sauce per person.

A few minutes before you are ready to serve, carefully remove the top part
of the cooked skin of the apples, revealing the white cooked pulp.

Mix the egg yolk with the extra saffron and the extra touch of sugar. Paint
this mixture over the exposed apples and replace in the oven for just 5 or
so minutes until set.

Whisk the 25-50g (1-2oz) butter into the sauce over a medium heat.

Arrange the goose with its golden apples on a serving dish, pour over the
spiced sacue into a hot jug and take to your festive table.