Lamb saddle, new potatoes, asparagus & bagna cauda

To be prepared a couple of hours in advance: Marinate some lamb saddle pieces in a generous amount of olive oil flavoured with some garlic and a mix of your favourite fresh herbs, salt & pepper. You can also prepare the night before and store in the fridge, but remember to bring the lamb to room temperature before cooking.

30 minutes before dinner time, start with washing and scrubbing smallish new potatoes and place them into a pot with water and some salt. Boil until cooked through. Set aside.

Next, brown the marinated lamb meat on a frying pan and then place into a 160 C oven for 10-15 minutes.

The meat and veggies are accompanied by my version of a Piedmontese warm dip sauce bagna càuda, which has a little Sicilian twist. You need 2-3 garlic cloves, 6-8 anchovy fillets, 1-2 teaspoons of small capers, a small peperoncino, some salt and parsley which you grind in a mortar & pestle or food processor. After mashing, move it to a pan and and heat it close to boiling. To finalise, add couple of splashes of balsamic vinegar and generously extra virgin olive oil, then emulsify.

Somewhere in between, wash some asparagus and boil in a pot with water and some salt until just tender. Set aside.

Prepare portions: place meat, new potatoes and asparagus on a plate. Pour over bagna cauda and sprinkle over finely chopped parsley. Buon appetito!