Prime cuts of meat are expensive, but with good accompaniments, they can stretch to feed extras.
Ingredients
—1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus a little more ¼ tsp ground cumin Freshly ground black pepper Few rosemary sprigs Flaky sea salt 4 lamb tenderloins about 220g about 7½ ounces), or 1 lamb shortloin (also known as lamb backstrap; a piece of lamb bout 20cm (about 8 inches) long and weighing around 200g / 7 ounces)
Method
—1 In a shallow dish mix oil, cumin, a good grind of black pepper and rosemary sprigs. Add lamb and turn the pieces to coat in the marinade.
2 Preheat a heavy-based frying pan (skillet) over medium-high heat. Add a lick of oil, turn the lamb in the marinade and add to the pan. Cook lamb tenderloins for 2 minutes a side, or until down to your liking (be careful not to overcook them), but a lamb shortloin will need a few minutes more, about 3-5 minutes a side.
3 Transfer lamb to a chopping board and season with salt. Rest the lamb for 5 minutes before slicing thinly with a sharp knife.
Recipe notes
Serve the lamb with drained yoghurt topped with sieved cumin and smoked paprika, slivers of preserved lemon, and rainbow chard. You could also serve couscous, burghul or flatbreads to accompany the lamb.
Rainbow chard with raisins
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