James Martin's British Adventure: Recipes from BBQ lamb chops to onion and Wendsleydale quiche

As the third in his series of adventure TV series and cookbooks, James looks a little close to home and finds some of the country's best producers to make classic British dishes

Made with aged mutton from the Orkeny islands, this recipe is simple and best done on a barbecue (Peter Cassidy)

BBQ lamb chops with chimichurri sauce, broccolini and new potatoes

This dish is simply lamb and mint sauce. Chimichurri is a green sauce that originates from Argentina and Uruguay and is usually made with parsley, garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Adding mint to it makes it a great, simple fresh tasting sauce that goes beautifully with barbecued or grilled lamb chops.

Serves 4

400g new potatoes
25ml olive oil
8 lamb chops
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g broccolini​

For the chimichurri sauce

15g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
15g coriander, roughly chopped
15g mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
25ml red wine vinegar
50ml olive oil

Light your BBQ. When the coals are silvery in colour, it’s ready to cook on. While you’re waiting for the coals to heat, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the new potatoes for 10 minutes until just tender.

When the BBQ is ready, rub a little oil over the lamb chops and season well. Put the potatoes and broccolini into a bowl and add the remaining oil. Season and toss together. Put the chops onto the BBQ and cook for 3–4 minutes on each side. Add the potatoes and broccolini when you turn the chops over and turn these over after 1–2 minutes.

To make the sauce, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and season well. To serve, pile the lamb, potatoes and broccolini onto a platter and spoon over the sauce.

(Peter Cassidy)

Caramelised onion, courgette Wensleydale quiche

‘Real men eat quiche’ is what the team told me as I made this. I don’t know about that, but I can tell you that Wensleydale cheese is a great addition. It was originally made from ewes’ milk by French monks from the Roquefort region who settled in Yorkshire, but commercial production by large dairies using cows’ milk soon spread throughout Britain. In 2013,

Yorkshire Wensleydale was granted PGI (protected geographical indication) status and is now made the proper way in Hawes and is the one to look for.

Serves 8

1 tbsp olive oil
15g butter
2 red onions, sliced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
300ml double cream
100ml full-fat milk
2 small courgettes, around 225g, thinly sliced, lengthways
3 courgette flowers, sliced lengthways
175g crumbled Wensleydale cheese

For the pastry

300g plain flour, plus a little extra for dusting
150g butter, chilled and diced
a pinch of sea salt
a few thyme sprigs, leaves picked (optional)
1 egg, beaten

Start by caramelising the onions for the filling. Heat the oil and butter in a medium pan over a medium heat. Once the butter has melted, stir in the onions and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook over a low heat for 20–25 minutes, stirring every now and then until the onions have softened and caramelised. If they look as though they’re burning, add a tablespoon of water and stir in . Spread onto a plate and set aside to cool.

Make the pastry. Put the flour into a bowl, add the butter, salt and thyme (if using) and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg and mix with a knife until the mixture forms clumps, then bring together lightly with your hands. Add a couple of teaspoons of water if the dough feels dry. Dust a clean work surface with flour and knead lightly and quickly until smooth. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan)/350°F/gas 4. Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the pastry to a rough circle measuring about 32cm in diameter. Carefully lift the pastry into a 27-cm fluted tart tin and gently press into the corners. To make the filling, put the eggs and egg yolks, cream and milk into a jug and whisk together. Season well and whisk again. Spread the onions over the base of the pastry, arrange the courgettes and courgette flowers on top (see overleaf ) and scatter over the cheese.

Pour the egg mixture into the tart tin and give it a little shake so that it spreads evenly. Carefully slide the tart tin onto a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 45–50 minutes, until the filling is set. Once cooked, take the quiche out of the oven, let it sit for about

5 minutes, then trim the pastry edges. Serve hot, warm or cold with a green salad. Leftovers keep very well for the next day but the filling will be a little firmer after a night in the fridge.

(Peter Cassidy)

Deep-fried soft-boiled egg salad with croutons and bacon

I love this salad but you need to serve it on a platter to get the full effect. Use the best eggs and bacon you can afford to get the full flavours; eggs with deep-coloured yolks look great. Don’t overcook the eggs, though – 6 minutes should be fine – as you need the yolks to be slightly runny to mingle with the dressing.

Serves 4 – 6

12 slices of streaky bacon
½ loaf of sourdough, chopped into chunks
6 eggs, unshelled, plus 2 eggs, beaten
100g plain flour
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g panko breadcrumbs
1–2 litres vegetable oil, for deep-frying
125-g bag of salad leaves
2 chicory bulbs, trimmed and separated into leaves
1 bunch or 100-g bag of watercress
handful of beetroot leaves
2 little gem lettuce, trimmed and separated into leaves
6 leafy celery tops

For the dressing

1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
150ml vegetable oil
50ml white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon grainy mustard

Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat until hot then add the bacon to the pan and fry, turning every now and then, until crisp. Lift onto a plate and set aside. Return the pan to the hob and fry the sourdough chunks in the fat, again over a medium heat, until golden and crisp. Spoon onto the plate with the bacon and set the pan aside to use for the dressing later.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a rolling boil. Carefully lower the whole eggs into the water and simmer for 6 minutes. Lift out and lower into a bowl of cold water. Carefully remove the shells, taking care not to break the eggs.

Heat the vegetable oil in a deep-fat fryer to 180°C (350°F) or in a deep heavy-based saucepan until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into it. (Note: hot oil can be dangerous; do not leave unattended.)

Line a tray with kitchen paper. Spoon the flour into a shallow bowl and season well. Pour the beaten eggs into a separate, shallow bowl and the breadcrumbs into another bowl. Gently roll each peeled egg in the flour to cover all over, do the same in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs, ensuring each one is completely coated.

Carefully lower 3 eggs into the hot oil and fry for about 1 minute until golden. Lift out onto the kitchen paper to drain and repeat with the other 3 eggs. Make the dressing for the salad. Put all the ingredients into the frying pan used for the bacon and croutons, add 1 tablespoon of water and season well. Bring up to a simmer, whisking well to mix everything together.

Arrange all the salad leaves on a platter then scatter the bacon and croutons over the top. Put the eggs on a board and use a sharp knife to cut them in half lengthways. Nestle them into the salad, spoon over the warm dressing and serve.

Extracted from 'James Martin’s Great British Adventure' by James Martin (Quadrille, £25) Photography © Peter Cassidy