Category Archives: lamb

Warm lamb and pomegranate salad

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I came up with this for lunch today as a way to use leftovers from a roast a couple of nights ago. Of course, you could cook up some fresh lamb instead.

Serves 1

Leftover roast lamb, sliced
Leftover baked sweet potato, diced
Mixed salad leaves
Cucumber
Tomato
A few slices of red onion
One pomegranate
Balsamic vinegar

Arrange salad leaves on a plate. Slice cucumber, cut tomato into wedges and add to the plate with the sliced onion. Cut the pomegranate in half and squeeze seeds and juice from one half into a bowl (wrap the other half and refrigerate to use in a fruit salad or some other dish). Warm the lamb and sweet potato in the microwave and arrange on top of the salad. Spoon the pomegranate seeds and some of the juice over, sprinkle on a little balsamic vinegar.

Lamb salad…or is it?

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Talk about versatile. Add a pita and it’s souvlaki. Leave out the pita and it’s a lamb salad. Brilliant! :o )

Serves 2

1 tbs olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
A handful of fresh Greek oregano leaves or about 1/2 tsp dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper
Lamb steaks or fillets
Natural yoghurt

Salad:
Mixed salad leaves
About 1/2 cup of sliced cucumber
A medium orange, sliced and peeled
A few slices of red onion
Crumbled feta

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl and add whole lamb fillets or steaks. Turn to coat and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight. I have done this with only about 30 minutes marinating and it’s fine, but the longer, the better.

Cook the lamb on a hot BBQ plate or in a non-stick pan, turning several times, until just pink in the centre. Set aside to rest while you assemble the salad. Slice lamb and arrange over salad ingredients then top with a glob of yoghurt.

Or pile the lot on top of a warmed pita (brush with olive oil and chuck on the BBQ for the best souvlaki you’ve ever had) and roll up. I’d leave out the orange if doing this…

Lamb saag

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Yes, it does look like greeny-brown gloop, but I promise it tastes fabulous. Honest.

Serves 4

500g diced lean lamb
1 medium onion, diced
1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp crushed garlic
1 tbs crushed ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs garam masala
1/2 a 400g can diced tomatoes
1 cup water (omit if using a slow cooker)
1 tsp salt
1 bunch English spinach, washed
1 tbs water, extra

In a large frying pan or flameproof casserole, fry onion, ginger and garlic over medium heat till onion is golden. Add all spices except garam masala and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the garam masala and cook for a further minute. Add tomatoes, stirring well to remove the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for a further minute or two. Add the lamb, and stir until well coated with the spice mix and sealed on all sides. Add 1 cup water and the salt, then cover and cook for one-and-a-half hours (if using a slow cooker, skip the cup of water, transfer the mixture at this point and cook on low for 6 hours).

Place the spinach and the extra tablespoon of water into a large saucepan. Add about one-and-a-half teaspoons of salt and cook, covered, till spinach is wilted and all the fibrous stems are soft. Process to a puree and add to lamb mixture, cooking for a further 10-15 mins (in the slow cooker, add and cook for a further hour).

Moroccan-style roast lamb

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Bike Boy picked up some lamb mini-roasts for a bargain the other day and last night I was inspired to do something different with them. I was in a Moroccan mood, but wasn’t happy with any of the recipes I found on the net, so between us we made this up. I did intend to take a photo, but my camera battery was dead – and I’d forgotten to charge the spare. Oops.


Serves 6 (ish)

2 x 400g lamb leg mini-roasts[1]
½ small onion
2 tbs chopped coriander leaves
1 tbs chopped mint leaves
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp cinnamon
3-4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed[2] (or use ¼ tsp of seeds)
1 tsp crushed garlic
Juice and zest of ½ a lemon
1 tbs fat free natural yoghurt
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
Ground black pepper
½ tsp salt

Chop onion roughly and then, using a mortar and pestle, add the salt and pound into a paste. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you should get one. :o ) But meanwhile, just chop the onion very finely or smoosh it in a blender. Not the same, but it’ll do). Mix all ingredients except lamb in a large bowl. Add the lamb and coat well with the marinade, cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Roast the lamb at about 180C for 60-70 minutes or until done to your liking. Serve with couscous or roasted veg and something green.

We had roasted sweet potato, onion and red capsicum (cooked with the lamb), plus broccolini.

[1] This would work with shanks or other cuts of lamb suitable for roasting

[2] Remove the cardamom pods before serving. Nobody wants to bite on those.

Greek-style lamb burgers

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Sorry – no photo. We had dinner at around 8:00pm tonight and I wasn’t pausing to take photos. You all know what a burger looks like anyway.

This was super-quick, pleased everyone, and used ingredients we had on hand.

Serves 4

500g lean lamb mince
1 tsp crushed garlic
½ small red onion, finely diced
2 tbs chopped mint
1 tsp ground cumin
Squeeze of lemon juice

Yoghurt sauce:
½ cup fat-free natural or Greek yoghurt
1 tbs chopped mint
Squeeze lemon juice
Ground black pepper
Salt to taste

To serve:
2 Turkish bread rolls, each cut into two portions
Lettuce leaves
Baby spinach leaves
Thinly sliced cucumber
Sliced Greek-style feta
The other half of the onion from the burgers, thinly sliced

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well – you’ll need to use your hands to do this properly. Divide the mixture into 4 and shape into rissoles. Cook in a non-stick pan sprayed with cooking spray until browned on both sides and cooked through.

Warm the Turkish bread for a few minutes in a moderate oven. Slice each piece in half and place the salad ingredients on one half. Top with the feta, a rissole and a spoonful of yoghurt sauce, then top with the remaining bread half.

You could also make the rissoles smaller and serve them in warmed pita bread or your favourite wrap, souvlaki-style. I’ve made similar meals with lamb steaks, marinated in lemon juice, garlic and a little olive oil – but you need to cook the steaks quickly over a high heat or they turn out tough.

Warm lamb salad with pomegranate and baby beetroot

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This is not a weeknight just-chuck-it-together kind of meal. It’s not really dificult and doesn’t take a huge amount of time, but there is a bit of planning and preparation involved, so it’s probably best left for a weekend dinner.

I found a recipe on the Taste website, and adapted it to suit my needs and preferences (and what was in the pantry).

Serves 4

8 baby beetroot
1 pomegranate, halved
1 tbs raspberry jam, warmed gently
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
4 lamb loin fillets
A bunch of asparagus, steamed lightly
1 cup rocket leaves
100g marinated feta, drained
2 tbs chopped walnuts, toasted

Cook beetroot in boiling water (or steam), for 20 minutes or until tender. Peel and quarter when cool enough to handle, then set aside.

Gently press each pomegranate half over a juicer to extract juice and loosen seeds. Place the juice in a bowl, then using the sharp tip of a knife, remove the seeds and add to the bowl. Place warmed jam in a bowl and whisk in oil, vinegar, mustard and 2 tablespoons pomegranate juice. Season, then set aside.

Preheat oven to 190°C. Heat an ovenproof non-stick frypan on medium-low heat. Season lamb and cook until browned on each side, then transfer pan to oven and cook for a further 5 minutes for medium-rare or until cooked to your liking. Set aside to rest.

Place beets, asparagus, rocket, feta and nuts in a bowl. Toss gently with 3 tbs dressing. Pile onto plates. Thinly slice lamb and add to salad. Drizzle with remaining dressing and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds to serve.

I think I’m in love with pomegranates – the seeds look like bright jewels.

This could have been improved by giving the lamb some extra flavour – next time I’ll add some garlic and herbs. Or make it with duck, as per the original recipe.

Arabic Lamb with Roasted Veggie Salad

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This I found on the internet…I made a couple of very minor changes (see below). It takes a bit of time, but it’s well worth it.

4 Lamb (Loin Fillet)
4 Cardamom (Pods)
2 Cloves
½ Cinnamon Quill
1 teaspoon Cumin Seed
1 teaspoon Coriander
2 teaspoons Garlic
Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Juice Lime (1)
Dash Of Olive Oil
3 teaspoons Pistachios

Pound all spices in a mortar & pestle & remove cardamom husks. Add rest of ingredients and pound to chunky constancy. Rub all over lamb and marinate for at least 1 hr. Seal lamb in pan and finish cooking in hot oven till just cooked medium –rare, approx 8 to10 mins. Let it rest for a few minutes then slice and serve on top of salad.

Spiced Yoghurt

2 tablespoons Yoghurt
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 tablespoon Fresh Coriander (Chopped)
Sea Salt
Pinch of Brown Sugar
Pinch of Garam Masala

Combine the ingredients for the spiced yoghurt and set aside until required

Salad

200g fresh beetroot
Olive Oil (Thyme & Garlic For Roasting)
250g Sweet Potatoes
1 Red Onion
350g Sugar Snap Peas
100g Persian Feta Cheese
10 Young Basil Leaves
Few Rocket (Leaves)
Splash Raspberry Vincotto

Boil beetroot until just cooked, the skin should be is easily removed with fingers.
Drain and chop into fork size cubes. Roast sweet potato & onion in oil, thyme & garlic. Blanch sugar snap peas and refresh in cold water & drain. Mix all cooked vegetables together with basil and crumbled Persian fetta. Toss rocket in vincotto and place on plate, top with salad, sliced lamb and a dollop of spiced yoghurt.

I added asparagus tips to the salad. I also roasted the beetroot, boiling it till almost cooked first, then adding it to the other roasting veggies. I wasn’t about to spend $16 on a small bottle of vincotto, so I used a half-teaspoon of fig-balsamic glaze from Safeway, mixed with a teaspoon of ordinary old balsamic vinegar.

I whipped this up on a weeknight – got home at 5:30 and we ate at around 7:15. In between, I cooked the kid’s pasta and checked my email, so it wasn’t all that much trouble. You just gotta be organised. :o )

Lamb & sweet potato salad

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I haven’t specified quantities here, because it’s not ‘that’ kind of recipe. Suit yourself how big a chunk of lamb you have, or how much salad, lemon juice etc.


Lean lamb steak
Garlic
Lemon
About 100g peeled sweet potato, cut into big chunks and steamed till tender
Herb/spice mix (I used middle-eastern influenced Baharat)
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Salad veggies

Mix 1 tsp of olive oil and some spice mix together in a large bowl. Add the sweet potato and toss to combine. Place on an oven tray and bake at about 200C for around 20 minutes.

Spread crushed garlic over the lamb steak, squeeze some lemon juice over and sprikle a little more spice mix on top. Heat a non-stick pan and spray with cooking spray. Add the lamb and cook over a fairly high heat.

While the lamb and sweet potato are cooking, arrange salad veggies on a plate. I used rocket, red capsicum and mixed sprouts, but you could have anything you fancy. Combine remaining teaspoon of oil and some more lemon juice in a small bowl. Slice the cooked lamb and arrange with the sweet potato on top of the salad. Drizzle the oil/lemon juice dressing over the top.

Lamb shanks in red wine sauce

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Apparently, (according to my photography critic) this doesn’t look like anything. Whatever. It was delicious.


Serves 2-4, depending on the number of lamb shanks you use.

2-4 lamb shanks, Frenched
2 onions, sliced
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp salt
1 cup red wine
1 tbs plain flour
2 cups beef stock
1 carrot, diced
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 bay leaf

Heat oil in a heavy-based frying pan, add sugar and onions, stir till onions are caramelised. Add garlic, cook till golden. Remove and set aside in a baking pan. Brown lamb shanks in the same frying pan over high heat, remove and add to the baking pan.

Add flour to frying pan, stir for 1-2 minutes until lightly browned. Add salt and wine to deglaze pan. Add stock, bring to boil, then pour over lamb in the baking pan. Add carrot and herbs, cover with foil, bake at 180C for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 140C and cook for a further 1½ to 2 hours. Check after 1 hour and add a cup water if pan is looking a bit dry. Remove foil 10 minutes before end of cooking time, return to oven to brown and thicken.

Remove lamb shanks and keep warm, strain sauce through a fine sieve and serve over lamb.

We were too lazy/hungry/impatient to do the straining thing, so the sauce in the photo is chunky.