Sunday 29 January 2012

lamb, beetroot and broad bean salad

If you haven't cooked with broad beans before, you need to get over all this shit cause these little guys are super tasty, buttery, easy to use and good for you. Normally I would use fresh broad beans from the pod and shell them myself which is a really lovely and honest experience but unfortunately they have just gone out of season. Thankfully you can purchase broad beans frozen in nearly all supermarkets now.
Another thing about this dish is that when you eat fresh beetroot and nature calls the next day, don't forget that it isn't blood! You are not dying! It is just from the fresh beetroot.


1 medium sized beetroot
150g of lamb fillet (backstrap)
1 garlic clove, crushed
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup of frozen broad beans
2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt
10 mint leaves, shredded finely
1 teaspoon of honey
S&P
1 cup of baby spinach leaves

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Peel your beetroot and wrap it in foil, adding about 1/2 teaspoon of water before sealing up the foil. Cook in the oven for around 45 minutes or until just soft all the way through.

Place your lamb in a dish along with the crushed garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Set aside.

Cover the broad beans in some warm water for around 10 minutes just to defrost them a little. The broad beans have a husk around the outside which you need to remove. To do this just pinch the husk a little bit until it breaks and then pop your bean out, discard the empty shells. Cover the shelled beans with boiling water for around 1 minute, drain and set aside to cool.

Mix the yoghurt, honey, shredded mint leaves and a pinch of salt and pepper together. Pop back in the fridge until serving.


Remove the beetroot from the oven (leave the oven on) and carefully remove the foil, ensuring to avoid any steam. Slice the beetroot in small wedges and leave to cool.

Heat a fry pan and sear your lamb fillet, tip the oil and lemon juice from the marinade in to the pan rather than using any additional oil. Just sear the lamb briefly to seal it and then place in the oven on a tray for around 5 minutes, or until you are satisfied with how well it is cooked. I like my lamb a bit pink still so that it remains tender and juicy.

Mix together the beetroot, broad beans and spinach and place on your plate. Thinly slice the lamb fillet and lay over the salad. Remove your yoghurt mix from the fridge and spoon over the top of the lamb. Enjoy.



5 comments:

  1. Looks amazing! Passing along the recipe to a friend who's looking to spice up her salads!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I feel privilidged to be able to taste this straight from the first plate itself! Perfect combination of ingredients, healthy yet tasty. Passing this on

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks brilliant and I shall save it until my broad beans are ready. We like them when they are very young (before the outer casing is a problem) They are beautiful steamed soaked in butteer, sea salt and cracked pepper...perhaps even nicer than asparagus!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Julienne, that sounds amazing! I am quite envious of anyone that has a garden. Nothing would be nicer than picking and shelling broad beans that you have grown yourself. You would probably really like this site if you haven't already discovered it: http://wholelarderlove.com/ Rohan has a great little garden and the meals he creates from it look divine.

      Delete
    2. Sorry to disappoint but the beans are there because they were there when we moved in and they self seed!! Perhaps not as well now as they did originally so maybe it is time to buy and plant some new ones!!! Friends planted a summer vegie garden for me so I would eat but that too has now gone to seed but they tell me I will have lots of rocket and spinach this year!!!!

      Delete