FOOD AND DRINK

In season

Spring is the perfect time to put lamb on the menu

LAMB is best enjoyed in spring, when it’s at its most tender. We caught up with Andreas Antona, head chef at Simpsons restaurant in Birmingham, who gave us one of his favourite recipes for cooking with lamb.

Rack of lamb with pink grapefruit, melon, celeriac, honey and rosemary sauce

INGREDIENTS

2 x rack of lamb
1 x celeriac
1 x pink grapefruit
1 x melon 2 tbsp honey
2 x sprigs of rosemary
250ml lamb stock

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C. Roast the lamb for 20 minutes, then leave to rest (the longer the resting time the more tender the meat will be). Cut the celeriac into 2.5cm cubes and boil for 10 minutes. Cut the pink grapefruit into segments and scoop the melon into balls.

Bring the lamb stock to the boil and add the honey and rosemary. Reduce the liquid until you have approximately 75ml left. Once you have reduced the stock, add a knob of butter. Cut the lamb into four pieces and arrange on a plate with the grapefruit, celeriac and melon. Finally, pour over the sauce.

Antona’s new cookery book Modern French Cooking is out now (Absolute Press, £20).

Taste test

This month, we lift the lid on chocolates

GODIVA, GOLD COLLECTION

€21 (240g) www.godiva.com From: Belgium Result: These chocs looked great, but tasted average. Perhaps a case of style over substance. That said, we still finished the box.

Bonus point: Join the My Godiva club and you get a Chocolate Profile, which decides the chocolates you are most drawn to based on a personality test. **

HOTEL CHOCOLAT, CHOCOGRAM DELUXE

€24 (480g) www.hotelchocolat.com From: UK Result: Incredible. Every single one was delicious. Impossible to fault.

Bonus point: Hotel Chocolat runs a chocolate tasting club.

Every month, the team creates a brand new selection of chocolates and sends them out to members for tasting. Sign us up! *****

PERUGINA, BACI

€8 (343g) www.perugina.it From: Italy Result: They’re not going to blow you away, but these cheap-and-cheerful chocs have a scrumptious hazelnut centre and are pretty addictive.

Bonus point: Each chocolate comes with a tiny love note, translated into four different languages. ***

RICHART, PETITS

€31 (49 pieces) www.richart.com From: France Result: These teeny-weeny chocolates taste as expensive as they are, and the intricate designs on them look sensational.

Bonus point: The menu card recommends a particular order in which to taste the chocolates so as to “maximise the power of the collection”. A great excuse to carry on eating. ****

Making a meal of it

SIMPSONS, BIRMINGHAM

For Michelin-starred cuisine and a place to rest your head, just travel one mile out of Birmingham to this early Victorian villa.

In addition to the first-class French food and four themed bedrooms (French, Venetian, Colonial and Oriental), Simpsons runs a cookery school upstairs. In March, TV chef Ursula Ferrigno will be there cooking some delicious Italian recipes. Tel: +44 (0)121 454 3434, www.simpsonsrestaurant.co.uk