When the team at Johnny’s Green Room let you in on their brunch secrets, you listen. Early-weekend, late-morning dining is a staple they’ve perfected, which goes perfectly with the venue’s Lygon Street rooftop. Their first piece of advice? Whether a meal or a cocktail, keep things light.
“Usually if you’re going out for brunch, you may have been out the night before, so it should be super refreshing and really light,” says venue manager Lani Stubbs. Leaning on Johnny’s strong Italian influences, Stubbs and ex-executive chef Matteo Toffano created for Broadsheet the perfect brunch pairing: lamb arrosticini with gremolata washed down with a citrusy Spritz.
“You have the fattiness, you have the lemon zest, you have the beautiful herby flavour of the lamb, so that’s why we pair it with the [vodka] spritz,” Toffano says. “If it was me, I would make three or four arrosticini per person … and you’ll then have two or three spritz with it, too.”
Start with the gremolata, a Milanese mix of lemon zest and juice, garlic, extra virgin olive oil (Toffano recommends Mount Zero) and plenty of chopped parsley. “You can prepare that half an hour [or] one hour before, so it can sit and all the ingredients come together,” he says.
For the lamb, use backstrap – a lean, tender cut. Remove the sinew, dice, and marinate for 30 minutes with Sicilian oregano, lemon zest, parsley and olive oil. Skewer and preheat the barbecue or pan.
“You want to have the temperature of the grill pretty hot so it just has a nice, beautiful crust all around the meat, but you want to have it medium rare inside,” says Toffano. “That’s why we use lamb backstrap because it gets perfect medium rare and it’s nice and juicy.”
Once seared – about six minutes, turning frequently – spoon over the gremolata and serve. “It’s quite easy. It’s pretty practical to do and paired with a beautiful spritz, it’s a nice addition to your brunch,” Toffano adds.
Lamb arrosticini with gremolata
Serves 4
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 6 minutes
Ingredients:
800g lamb backstrap
10g garlic, finely chopped
5g dry oregano
30ml extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp dry chilli
Salt and pepper
Gremolata
4 tbsp parsley, chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
½ tsp fresh garlic, grated
50ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Method
For the gremolata, place all the ingredients in a bowl, mix well and store in fridge until needed.
For the lamb, clean the back strap of any fat and sinew. Cut the meat into four strips lengthwise and then each strip into 2cm by 2cm cubes. Place the lamb into a bowl with the rest of the ingredients, combine well and let marinate for 1 hour.
To make the arrosticini, place lamb cubes onto four medium skewers, one by one, until each skewer is full. Cook quickly on either the barbeque or a fry pan for six minutes, turning constantly to allow the meat to cook evenly.
Dress each of the arrosticini with the gremolata and serve immediately.
Johnny’s vodka and rosemary Spritz cocktail
Makes 1 serve. Approx. 1.5 standard drinks
Ingredients
20ml Grey Goose vodka (we use Grey Goose in this recipe)
20ml Italicus
20ml vermouth bianco
5ml lemon juice
Sprig of rosemary
Wedge of lemon
Method
Using a wine glass or gin balloon, add the Grey Goose vodka, Italicus, vermouth bianco and lemon juice, and top with soda and ice. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and lemon, and serve.
Dining and Cooking