I was trying to think of a different way to cook lamb neck without doing it in the traditional Thorn way of a rich tomato stew and creamy mash potatoes, and then I watched Rachel Khoo on SBS make this French dish and it looked so damn delicious, so I made Laura and I my interpretation of her interpretation of a tradition French dish with a few extra kicks. It’s essentially a simple stew where you don’t need to add stock because of all the strong flavours coming out of the neck chops.

All you need is:

6-8 neck chops

2 carrots

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 stalk of celery

sprig of thyme

a couple of bay leaves

pinch of salt

a few whole pepper corns

2 cups of greens – beans and peas preferably

baby potatoes

Note: Rachel’s recipe did not have the garlic, celery, potatoes, pepper or salt, so they can be omitted if desired.

Season the meat with a sprinkle of sea salt the brown in a searing hot pan with some olive oil. Remove to casserole dish. Throw in the carrots (peeled and diced into large chunks) and sliced onion. Sauté over medium heat for a few minutes. Throw in the thinly sliced celery and garlic. Fry for another minute and then add to casserole dish. Deglaze the pan with a solid glass of white wine, reduce by half and add to dish. Top up the casserole dish with water to just cover the meat and veg. Add the thyme, bay leaves and pepper corns and cook on 180C for 2 hrs. With about 40 min to go, add some baby potatoes. With about 5 minutes to go, add a couple of cups of greens like beans and peas. If need be, remove the lid to reduce the liquid to about half the original volume. It should taste like a high quality stock without being watery. If watery, reduce further.

Serve with a mint sauce, which can be as simple as a handful of finely sliced mint, 2 tablespoons of boiling water, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and a teaspoon of each salt and sugar. Combine and refrigerate to cool while the meat cooks. The longer it stands, the better it tastes.