Char-grilled lamb – simply scrumptious!
Introduction
Serves: 2 but can be doubled or increased to serve more
Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
Large sprig rosemary broken into smallish pieces
1 Tbsp finely chopped preserved lemon rind
2 mini lamb ‘steaks’, or 1 lamb tenderloin, weighing about 220g (about 8 ounces)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Flaky sea salt
Vegetables
4 Tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp crushed coriander seeds
1 small eggplant (aubergine), sliced
2 small firm zucchini (courgettes)
6 firm cherry tomatoes, halved
Flaky sea salt
Method
You can check out the story about New Zealand’s National Lamb Day here
1 Start the lamb first. Put oil, rosemary and preserved lemon on a plate. Add lamb and turn it to coat with the marinade. Marinate lamb while preparing the vegetables.
2 Mix 3 tablespoons oil, paprika, cumin seeds and crushed coriander seeds (simply bash them with the edge of a pot if you don’t have a mallet), on a plate. Quickly pass eggplant slices through the seasoned oil and cook on a preheated barbecue hot plate, or in a hot ridged grill pan, until tender and a deep golden colour, turning often. Transfer to a plate.
3 Add a little more oil to the bowl if necessary. Trim zucchini and slice each one lengthways into 3 slices. Score surface of zucchini slices with a sharp knife. Rub with a little oil and char-grill a few minutes a side. Transfer to plate with eggplant and season with a little salt. Char-grill tomatoes cut side down and add to plate.
4 Next cook the lamb. Scrape off the lemon and rosemary. Cook lamb on a preheated barbecue hot plate or in a hot ridged grill pan, for 2-3 minutes a side: the lamb should feel springy (medium-rare), but not bouncy (rare to uncooked). Adjust the cooking time to suit your cut of lamb, using the touch test as a guide. Add the lemon and rosemary to the hot plate or pan and cook gently until the lemon has coloured. Transfer to a plate. Transfer lamb to a board and season with black pepper and salt. Rest lamb for 5 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain of the meat with a sharp knife.
5 Assemble plates with grilled vegetables and sliced lemon, adding all the little bits of preserved lemon and spice. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
You can cook the lamb and vegetables on a barbecue hot plate (griddle), or in a ridged grill pan. If there is room, you can cook everything at the same time.
And check out the recipe for Lamb & Eggplant Burgers here