Rump of lamb with baked aubergine and pesto

Main. Difficulty: Medium. Serves 4. 1 hour 10 minutes, plus marinating time.

🍳 Cook: 1 min

Ingredients

4		lamb rumps
200 ml		olive oil (for lamb)
1 tbsp	15 ml	fresh thyme
1 tbsp	15 ml	rosemary, chopped
4		garlic cloves
1 tsp	5 ml	black peppercorns, crushed
—		juice of half a lemon
25 g		pine nuts (pesto)
2		garlic cloves, finely chopped (pesto)
100 g		basil leaves
10 tbsp	150 ml	olive oil (pesto)
50 g		Parmesan, shredded
2		large aubergines
—		flaky sea salt
—		pepper
—		olive oil (aubergines)
100 g		rocket (to serve)
—		extra virgin olive oil (to serve)

Main. Medium. Serves 4. 1 hour 10 minutes, plus marinating time.

The day before cooking, add the herbs, garlic, peppercorns, lemon juice and olive oil to a blender and blitz until puréed. Pour over the lamb rumps, wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 24 hours.
To prepare the pesto, toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over a medium heat until golden brown. In a food processor, blitz the garlic, basil leaves, olive oil and pine nuts - if the pesto is too thick, add more oil to loosen it. Remove from the food processor, mix through the Parmesan and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Remove the rump from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, cut the aubergine in half, slash the cut surface with a sharp knife and season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of oil.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6.
Bake the aubergines in the oven for 20 minutes until soft. Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan over a high heat.
Meanwhile, sear the rumps on each side and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Remove the aubergines from the oven and spoon a layer of pesto across the flesh. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, or until the pesto has begun to crust.
To serve, place a slice of aubergine onto each plate. Slice the rump and alongside. Dress some rocket in olive oil and pepper and serve immediately.