I BORROWED the idea for this recipe from one of Nick Nairn’s early cook books. Nick always calls this dish Barlotto, combining barley and risotto together. I was looking for a novel way to combine the flavours of a traditional Scotch Broth to serve with lamb, and adapted his recipe. The result is very tasty and for something a little bit different, it makes a great accompaniment for a family meal.

Nick opened his first restaurant just one year after we began our life at The Three Chimneys, but his rapid rise to fame was a great deal faster than our own. I remember reading a fantastic article with a beautiful photograph of Braeval Old Mill near Aberfoyle, in Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine and wondering how on earth I would ever receive the same level of recognition. It was only a few years later that Nick received a Michelin star and he still holds the title of being the youngest Scottish chef ever to achieve this accolade.

The first time he came to The Three Chimneys, having driven at high speed from the Trossachs to Skye in time for lunch, I was mortified to discover he was sitting at one of our tables, devouring Skye fresh prawns and seared scallops with great enthusiasm. I questioned my ability to serve such a star, but I need not have worried. From that day onwards, he became a close friend, always supporting the restaurant publicly, testifying to our integrity and use of local, fresh ingredients.

When Nick sailed the west coast of Scotland, in the mid-1990s, making his highly successful television programmes, Wild Harvest and Island Harvest, I helped him on a couple of occasions with some local advice and information about suppliers. The TV series also supported the first of his cook books and as far as I can recall, the original Barlotto recipe is in one of these. Both TV series were immensely popular and I wish Scottish television would produce something like this to show-off how successfully our wonderful food and drink is being used so widely today, throughout the whole of Scotland and particularly in the remotest parts of the Highlands and Islands. We have so many young chefs to be proud of now and some wonderful places to enjoy great local tastes. Most publicity surrounding the UK’s restaurant scene remains very London-centric, even after all the years since Nick was promoting Scotland in his own particular way. It is high time we did much more!

We began building The House Over-By in November 1998 and opened our doors to the first overnight guests on 1st May 1999, exactly 18 years ago. This brought-about enormous change in our business lives, including being open all-year-round, with fulltime employees.

A dish similar to this recipe was on the menu on that night. Seared Skye Scallops were certainly there too, alongside Loch Dunvegan Langoustines and Loch Harport Oysters. Some things will never change! I remember standing at a work station beside the window in the original kitchen, seeing cars parked in our new car park outside The House Over-By in the dusky light. As if by magic, after a very tough and challenging six months of hard work and upheaval, tradesmen’s vans and delivery trucks were replaced with guests’ cars. A whole new chapter in our lives was just beginning.

I am still driving up and down the road to Skye on frequent occasions. Since those early days, we now have the House of Bruar as a possible stop-off. There is a fantastic food hall there and also, an amazing butchery. While driving north-west last weekend, I stopped to ask if they could prepare a loin of Scotch lamb for me and give me all the bones for stock. Gilbert the Butcher was exceptionally helpful. As he boned the whole loin, we chatted about the importance of having a relationship with your High Street butcher and not being afraid to ask for help with preparation and how to cook unfamiliar cuts of meat. The fresh meat on display was outstanding, from the most expensive to the cheaper cuts for slow-cooking. The loin is more expensive and for a special occasion, but the pearl barley risotto recipe can be adapted to suit many other cuts of meat and game, including lamb chops, liver or kidneys. It is easy to prepare in advance and very inexpensive. Wild garlic can be substituted at other times of the year, with finely chopped fresh rosemary, parsley and chives. You can make your own stock, but a lamb stock-cube or gel is a good alternative.

Loin of Lamb with Pearl Barley Risotto & Wild Garlic Gravy

(Serves 4/6)

For the Lamb Stock:

Ingredients

Bones from the loin of Scotch lamb

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion

2 carrots

2 sticks of celery taken from the outside of the bunch

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

4 large sprigs of fresh parsley with stalks

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 tbsp. apple, elderberry or redcurrant jelly

500ml red wine

Salt and pepper

Cold water to cover

Method

1. Place the bones in a roasting tin and roast in the oven at 220°C (Gas Mark 7) for 20/30 minutes until well browned and sizzling hot.

2. As the bones are roasting, prepare the vegetables, washing, peeling and cutting roughly into chunks.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot and add the vegetables and herbs. Reduce the heat and stir in the hot oil as they soften. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

4. Remove the roasting tin from the oven and sit on a low heat on top of a burner on your hob. Carefully lift the bones into the stockpot. Pour the red wine vinegar into the hot tin and scrape the residual meaty bits from the base. Work quickly as the vinegar will evaporate quickly. Add the red wine and the fruit jelly of your choice. Bring to the boil in the roasting tin and pour over the bones and vegetables in the stockpot.

5. Cover the whole lot with cold water, bring to boiling point, cover with a lid and leave to simmer for up to 2 hours.

6. Strain through a colander and then strain the liquid a second time through a fine sieve before using to make the gravy.

For the Pearl Barley:

Ingredients

2 tbsp. olive oil

200g pearl barley, rinsed in a sieve under cold water until it runs clear

1 medium leek, finely chopped (keep the darker green top for the stockpot if you are making your own with the bones)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 sticks of celery taken from inside the bunch, plus some leaves, finely chopped

50g currants

50g pine nuts

Finely grated zest of ½ orange

Sea salt and ground black pepper

500ml lamb or light vegetable stock

150ml good quality red wine

1 large handful of fresh wild garlic leaves, washed, dried and finely chopped

125g mushrooms of choice (optional)

25g butter to cook the mushrooms if using

1 tbsp. double cream per portion for reheating before serving

Method

1. Heat the oil in a heavy based pan. Add the barley and keep turning in the hot oil until it starts to colour pale brown.

2. Add the chopped leek, celery, onion and cloves of garlic. Once softened add the currants, pine nuts, orange zest and half the wild garlic. Stir well.

3. Pour in the stock and red wine. Bring to boil and then simmer slowly, uncovered until all the liquid is absorbed and the pearl barley is cooked al dente. Check the seasoning at this point as the mixture reduces quite a lot and can be spoiled if too much salt is added too soon. The mixture can be cooled and refrigerated at this stage, for re-heating with a dash of cream and the remaining chopped wild garlic added just before serving. Chopped mushrooms, sautéed in butter for a few minutes, can be added with the cream.

For the Gravy:

Ingredients

1 medium onion, finely chopped

125g mushrooms, chopped small with all trimmings

1 fat clove garlic

A large handful of wild garlic leaves, washed and roughly chopped

Sea salt and black pepper

25g unsalted butter

150ml good quality red wine

500ml lamb stock

Method

1. Melt the butter in a pan. Soften the onion and garlic. Add the mushrooms, plus half of the wild garlic leaves and seasonings. Stir together and allow to cook for a little longer.

2. Add the red wine. Bring to the boil and reduce until the liquid is thicker and becoming slightly syrupy. Add the lamb stock. Bring back to the boil and reduce again until it's half the quantity. Strain the liquid and reserve in a clean saucepan.

3. Finally add the other half of wild garlic leaves, finely chopped and leave to infuse in a warm place before serving. Reheat and strain before serving if preferred.

To cook the Loin of Lamb and assemble the dish:

Ingredients

1 loin of Scotch lamb, i.e. a single strip loin, or one half of a whole striploin

4 tbsp. olive oil

4 strips orange peel, cut thinly using a potato peeler, to avoid pith

2 sprigs of rosemary

1 clove garlic, sliced thinly

8 whole black peppercorns

Sea salt for seasoning

Method

1. Pour the ingredients, except the salt, over the lamb in a suitable flat dish and leave covered, at room temperature, for no more than 1 hour before cooking.

2. Lift the lamb from the marinade, discarding the herbs and flavourings. Season with a sprinkling of ground sea salt.

3. Grill the whole piece of lamb under a high heat for approximately 2 or 3 minutes on each side and leave to rest, lightly covered with a piece of foil, in a warm place for 5-10 minutes before cutting into portions. This cut of lamb is very tender and only needs to be cooked lightly. It should be pink in the middle.

4. Along with the pearl barley risotto, you could serve the lamb on a bed of wilted spinach cooked quickly in melted butter with pepper and freshly grated nutmeg, or other lightly cooked green vegetables, such as purple sprouting broccoli, or new-season asparagus. Immediately before serving, pour the reduced gravy around the meat.

Shirley Spear is owner of The Three Chimneys and The House Over-By on the Isle of Skye www.threechimneys.co.uk