Warm Lamb, Carrot & Beetroot Salad

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We call this a salad but it’s definitely a meal in itself – halfway between a fresh summery dish and something heart-warming for the cooler months.

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 1 hour

Serves 4-6

Good source of iron

Ingredients

2-3 Quality Mark lamb rumps
2 large beetroot
5-6 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 red onions, quartered
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon honey, melted
1 cup cooked risoni/orzo or couscous
2 cups baby spinach

Dressing

2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint

To serve

¾ cup feta, crumbled
½ cup pine nuts, toasted (optional)
Extra mint leaves

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake or 200°C conventional bake.

Salad

Cut the top and tail off the beetroots and wrap in tinfoil. Place in the oven and bake for an hour.

Add the carrots to a roasting dish with the garlic, onions, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, honey and 1 tablespoon oil. Mix it all up to coat evenly and season generously with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven along with the beetroot for the last 30 minutes. Remove everything and set aside.

Increase the oven temperature to 200�°C fan bake or 210�°C conventional bake.

Lamb

Season the lamb rumps with salt and pepper. Heat a little oil in a frying pan over a high heat. Add the lamb, fat side down, and cook for a few minutes until browned and crispy, and most of the fat is rendered out. Turn over and cook for another couple of minutes to brown the other side. Transfer to a roasting pan and roast in the oven for 13-15 minutes for medium. Remove from the oven, cover loosely with foil and rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain.

Dressing

To make the dressing, whisk the ingredients together and season to taste. Mix the spinach and cooked risoni/orzo or couscous in a bowl with half the dressing.

To serve

Rub the skin off the beetroot with your fingers and slice into thin wedges. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon some risoni/orzo/couscous mixture on to plates or bowls, then top with roasted veges, beetroot and sliced lamb. Sprinkle with the feta, pine nuts and extra mint then drizzle with a little more dressing.

Suitable Cuts
Nutrition
Tips & Tricks

Nutrition Information Per Serving

Serving size: 283g

Energy kJ (kcal)	1363 (325)
Protein (g)	22.6
Fat (g)	18.7
Saturated (g)	7.0
Carbohydrate (g)	15.2
Sugars (g)	9.1
Sodium (mg)	601
Iron (mg)	2.8
Zinc (mg)	3.5
Vitamin B12 (ug)	1.6
Vitamin D (ug)	0.15
Selenium (ug)	7.0

This all-rounder of a dish makes a perfect dish for entertaining as well as a post workout meal being rich in protein.

Take the lamb out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you cook it so it can come to room temperature, allowing it to cook evenly.
Make sure the pan is very hot before you add the lamb, or it will stew instead of sear.
I like to leave the layer of fat on the lamb rump when I cook it – it adds flavour and moisture. You can always cut it off before you slice it.
If you don’t have pine nuts, try pistachio nuts, or you could fry torn up pieces of bread in a little olive oil and salt for homemade croutons.
To reduce the sodium content of this dish, use less feta cheese.