Balsamic glazed lamb salad

A great salad for barbecues and picnics

Serves

5 - 6

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

This dish is a wonderful example of a beautiful array of flavours and textures. If you can’t find pomegranates, use chopped ripe strawberries instead; they go wonderfully with the balsamic vinegar. Some people don’t like the idea of fruit with lamb, but we think it goes perfectly. If you have an avocado, it’d also be a welcome addition to this salad.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand

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Ingredients

Lamb

3 Quality Mark rump steaks

Glaze

1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp brown sugar
1 stick chopped fresh rosemary
½ tsp salt

Salad

3 cups baby spinach
Seeds of 1 pomegranate
1 bunch asparagus
roughly chopped
1 red onion
thinly sliced lengthwise
3 kūmara
200g cheese, haloumi, from cows' milk
200g cherry tomatoes
_1/4 cup lightly toasted pine nuts

Vinaigrette

¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 crushed garlic clove
1 cup finely chopped basil leaves

Method

To Make Lamb

For the glaze, add all the ingredients to a small saucepan and simmer to reduce by half (this should take around 15 minutes) Set aside to cool down and slightly thicken.

Pat the lamb rumps dry, rub with a little oil and season.

Heat a frying pan or BBQ over a high heat and sear the lamb for a couple of minutes to brown all over. If you leave the fat on, leave it a little longer on that side to render and get crispy.

Place the lamb on a plate and coat all over with the balsamic glaze.

Transfer to an oven dish lined with tinfoil, spoon a little more balsamic glaze over top and finish cooking in the oven for 12-15 minutes depending on how you like it done.

Remove from the oven, spoon a little more glaze over top, cover loosely with foil and rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain.

To Make Salad

Add a dash of oil to a frying pan and bring to a high heat.

Fry the cooked kumara pieces for a few minutes until golden.

Set aside, add the asparagus to the pan with another dash of oil and a squeeze of lemon juice, and cook until tender. Season as required.

Only just before serving, cook the haloumi in the pan. Brush the slices with a little oil and fry over medium-high heat for a minute or two each side until crispy and golden.

To Serve

For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together until combined. Season as required.

Toss the lamb with the baby spinach, pomegranate seeds, asparagus, red onion, kumara, tomatoes and half the nuts in a bowl with half the vinaigrette.

Arrange on plates or a platter and add the haloumi.

Sprinkle with toasted nuts and drizzle with a little more vinaigrette or balsamic glaze if you like. Season with salt and pepper before serving.