"I was recently asked to be a part of the EU co-funded “Lamb - Easy, Tasty, Fun” campaign and I couldn’t refuse as lamb is a firm favourite on the farm. Lamb is possibly more special to me as it was not as readily available in the USA when I was growing up, and definitely falls under the special meals category."
Ingredients
Here, we eat lamb quite frequently as there are so many cuts to choose from, and all of them are delicious. I particularly enjoy my visiting my friend Suzanna Crampton’s Zwartbles farm and if we are lucky she sends us off with a parcel of meat from her herd.
This super simple Greek-style lamb salad is packed with flavor and nutrients and is perfect for an easy + light summer supper; you can double or triple the recipe if you are entertaining friends. The recipe calls for fillet of lamb (ask the butcher) or lamb steaks. I hadn’t used either of those cuts before and I must say, the fillet was incredibly tasty and tender. Let me know if you give it a go! You can find more fantastic Irish lamb recipes here.
Scullery notes: Be sure to not oversalt the vinaigrette as the feta and olives are already quite salty.
Prep time: 20 minutes (+30 minutes resting time)
Cooking time: 4-10 minutes
- 600g lamb fillet or lamb steaks
- 2 24g tins of cooked green lentils (or you can prepare your own)
- Juice of one lemon
- Salt and pepper
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 250g cherry tomatoes
- 200g feta style cheese
- ½ cucumber, deseeded
- ½ red onion
- 6 springs flat leaf parsley
- 6 sprigs mint
- 12 pitted black olives
Method
- Place the lentils in the fine sieve and rinse with plenty of cold water, then leave to drain.
- Mix the lemon juice with a little salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 tbsp olive oil, then whisk.
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Chop the cheese and cucumber into small pieces. Finely slice the red onion and chop the herbs. Place everything into the mixing bowl with the lentils and olives. Mix, cover and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Take the lamb out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. This will take approximately 30 minutes. Pre-heat the barbeque or frying pan on high heat. Brush the lamb fillets/steaks with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place on the bbq or in the pan. Cook for 2 minutes on each side, then reduce the heat and continue to cook depending on your preference and the thickness of the cut.
- Remove from bbq or pan and leave to rest for 2 minutes.
- Cut into strips and serve with lentil salad and bread.
There are a wide range of summer lamb BBQ dishes on www.tastyeasylamb.ie.
