Masterchef UK Professionals
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Suya Marinated Lamb Rack
Suya Marinated Lamb Rack with Yam and Sweet Potato Croquettes, Cavolo Nero, Carrot Crisps, Wild Garlic Powder, and Lamb Fat Jus
{Natasha}: "I can't afford to make any mistakes now, especially after the skills test, so I really need to put my all into this one. Bringing in my Ghanaian roots and my African heritage and everything is just really important to me. This is the dish that is going to showcase me as a chef."
{Natasha}: "So I'm actually making a suya spice, which that's what the roasted peanuts are for."
{Monica}: "Is it a Ghanaian spice?"
{Natasha}: "West Africa. In Ghana, we actually call it chichinka, but suya is the more common name for it. My signature dish is suya lamb rack with yam and sweet potato croquette, cavolo nero and carrot crisp with a wild garlic powder and then a lamb sauce jus."
{Marcus}: "Great to see Natasha more comfortable now she's cooking her own dish. Natasha's making a suya marinade for her lamb. It's peanuts that have been roasted and she's blending it with a selection of spices. And then she's going to rub that around the lamb and let it marinate before she cooks it off in the pan and finishes it in the oven."
{Natasha}: "I'm hoping that the suya spice on the lamb really comes through. That will be really important because that is the main thing on the dish. Just rendering the fat. Some of the spices keep coming off. Worried about the lamb. You never know. It might be over, it might be under. I'm just hoping that it comes out well."
{Monica}: "I love the idea of Natasha's lamb fat sauce. She's rendering a lot of that fat down from the lamb rack rather than just putting it to one side. She's going to whisk it in. She's going to try and emulsify the sauce with that lamb fat. So a lot of flavour. What she's got to be careful of is making that jus too fatty."
{Speaker 3}: "The croquette is a sweet potato. There's yam in there as well."
{Marcus}: "Hopefully they'll be crumbed and beautiful breadcrumbs and crispy on the outside. I'm looking forward to this."
{Natasha}: "I'm really disappointed that the suya spice didn't come through on the lamb today. I think just the pressure, nerves, not doing well in the skills test. I think that all just came in. Oh, dear."
{Marcus}: "Natasha, I'm enjoying the flavours of your dish. You also added back some of the lamb fat to emulsify the juice. That is nice. But my lamb is alright in parts. But closer to the bone is still slightly undercooked."
{Monica}: "Carrots are a nice bit of texture. I was very excited about the marinade. Unfortunately, it was all lost. Was there not enough marinade?"
{Natasha}: "I think it just got lost in the pan when I was colouring off the lamb. It's a shame."
{Monica}: "It is a shame."
{Speaker 3}: "There are bits I like. I've got the last chop. It is cooked. Your croquettes, beautiful and crispy. Nice lamb sauce. But it was the spicy flavours that you talked about that are so important to this dish. It's just not there."
JUDGES DELIBERATION: {Marcus}: "Natasha's dish sounded fantastic. The suya marinade, peanut and spice going on that lamb. I thought the lamb sauce was well made. My lamb was undercooked."
{Speaker 3}: "The croquette was beautiful and crunchy, but it was the spice I was really excited about. Just wasn't there on the plate. Such a shame."
OVERALL VERDICT: A disappointing outcome for a dish with real promise. The suya spice marinade, which was the centrepiece of the dish, was lost during the cooking process. The lamb was undercooked near the bone. The croquettes were praised as beautiful and crispy, and the lamb sauce was well made, but the missing spice flavour and undercooked lamb meant Natasha was eliminated.
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