Chef's Recipes

Green lentil soup with lamb ragoût and tomato fondue

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for green lentil soup with lamb ragoût and tomato fondue by Stuart Bell from Ten Minutes by Tractor.

By Stuart Bell
  • 40 mins preparation
  • 3 hrs 25 mins cooking
  • Serves 6
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Green lentil soup with lamb ragoût and tomato fondue
“Recently on our travels around Australia we dined at Ten Minutes by Tractor on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula and had the most excellent green lentil soup with lamb ragoût and tomato fondue. We would appreciate it if Stuart Bell would share his recipe with us.”
John Sheppard, Karrinyup, WA
To request a recipe, write to Fare Exchange, , GPO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW 2001, or email us. All requests should include the restaurant’s name and address or business card, as well as your name and address.
You’ll need to begin this recipe a day ahead.

Ingredients

  • 50 ml olive oil
  • 50 gm smoked ham hock, finely diced
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • ½ celery stalk, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock
  • 250 gm small green lentils, soaked in cold water overnight, drained
  • 1 sprig each rosemary and thyme
  • 250 ml (1 cup) pouring cream
Lamb ragoût
  • 50 ml olive oil
  • 3 lamb shanks (about 325gm each)
  • 1 each carrot, onion and celery stalk, coarsely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tbsp organic tomato paste
  • 2 vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • 3 black peppercorns
  • 200 ml red wine
  • 100 ml dry white wine
  • 1.5 litres (6 cups) hot chicken stock
  • 2 tbsp (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
Tomato fondue
  • 6 vine-ripened tomatoes, scored
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 golden shallots, finely chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
  • 1 leek, white part only, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp organic tomato paste
  • 1 sprig each rosemary and thyme
  • 150 ml dry white wine
  • 100 ml tomato juice
  • 5 basil leaves
  • 30 ml sherry vinegar, or to taste

Method

Main
  • 1
    For lamb ragoût, preheat oven to 150C. Heat half the oil in a large casserole over medium-high heat. Season shanks and cook, turning occasionally, until golden (5-7 minutes), remove shanks and set aside. Add remaining oil to casserole, reduce heat to medium, then add carrot, onion, celery and garlic, sauté until just starting to colour (5-7 minutes). Add tomato paste, sauté until paste darkens (1-2 minutes), then add tomato, bay leaves, peppercorns and wines, cook until slightly reduced (5-7 minutes). Add stock and lamb shanks, cover with foil and roast until shanks are tender and falling from the bone (2½-3 hours), remove from braising liquid, coarsely shred meat (discard bones and sinew), moisten with 125ml braising liquid, season to taste, stir through chopped parsley, set aside and keep warm.
  • 2
    Meanwhile for tomato fondue, blanch tomatoes until skins split (30 seconds), refresh, remove seeds, coarsely chop and set aside. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add shallot, celery, leek and garlic and sauté until tender (5-7 minutes). Add tomato paste and herbs and stir occasionally until paste darkens (2-3 minutes). Add chopped tomato, simmer until slightly reduced (3-5 minutes), then add wine and juice. Reduce by half (5-10 minutes), add basil and simmer until thickened (15-20 minutes). Season to taste with freshly ground pepper, sea salt and sherry vinegar, set aside and keep warm.
  • 3
    Meanwhile, heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add ham, vegetables and garlic, sauté until tender (7-10 minutes). Add stock, lentils and herbs and simmer until lentils are tender (20-30 minutes). Add cream, bring to the boil, then blend with a handheld blender until smooth, season to taste and keep warm. Divide ragoût and tomato fondue among bowls, pour in lentil soup and serve hot.

Notes

This recipe is from the April 2010 issue of .

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