Lamb backstrap, pumpkin & pistachio dukkah

Ingredients

• 4 lamb backstrap / lamb loin (250g each)
• 4 tbsp goats curd
• 100 g pumpkin
• 25 g pistachios
• 10 g sesame seeds
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 pinch salt
• 400 g pumpkin
• 40 g cherrywood chips
• 1 knob butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pinch salt
• 150 g raisins
• 100 g sugar
• 240 ml white vinegar
• 1 tsp chilli flakes

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Pickled Raisins ---

2. 2

   Place raisins in a sterile airtight container

3. 3

   Put vinegar, sugar & chili in a saucepan & heat until sugar has dissolved

4. 4

   Pour vinegar mixture over raisins, allow to cool, cover and store in the fridge

5. 5

   Pickled raisins will (potentially) last in the fridge for a couple of months!

6. 6

   --- Pumpkin Puree ---

7. 7

   Cut pumpkin into 1 inch wedges, drizzle with oil and season with salt

8. 8

   If using cherrywood, place the chips into tinfoil and fold up into a parcel. Using a knife stab a few holes to allow the smoke to release and place above the heat source of you BBQ

9. 9

   Cook pumpkin @ 150c on BBQ on indirect heat for 45mins – 1 hour until soft enough that you can stab a knife through easily

10. 10

    Peel the skin away and place in a blender with a knob of butter and blend until smooth

11. 11

    Pass the puree through a sieve to remove any remaining lumps

12. 12

    If you don’t have a bbq or don’t want to smoke the pumpkin roast it on a rack in the oven instead

13. 13

    --- Pistachio Dukkah ---

14. 14

    Roughly chop the pistachios

15. 15

    Toast the cumin, coriander, sesame seeds and salt lightly in a frying pan on low heat for a minute

16. 16

    Stir in the pistachios and allow to cool

17. 17

    --- Squash Cubes ---

18. 18

    Chop the 100g of squash into small 1cm cubes

19. 19

    While the lamb is resting fry the cubes in 1 tbsp olive oil and pinch of salt for 2-3 minutes until golden in colour

20. 20

    --- Lamb Backstrap ---

21. 21

    Remove lamb from the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to cooking

22. 22

    Rub in olive oil and season the lamb generously with salt

23. 23

    Cook on medium to high heat in a frying pan for 4 minutes, flip and cook for a further 3 minutes or until lamb has an internal temp of 52c. Add a knob of butter and baste the butter over lamb for 30 seconds

24. 24

    Allow lamb to rest on a wire rack for 6-8 minutes before carving

25. 25

    If cooking lamb on BBQ then cook @ 200c for 3 minutes per side or until lamb has a 52c internal temp

26. 26

    --- Plating ---

27. 27

    Place a spoon of warm puree on one side of the plate and using a spatula (or spoon) brush the puree away from your

28. 28

    Drizzle some pistachio dukkah on the plate along with some sprinkled pickled raisins (about 1 tsp of each)

29. 29

    Cut the lamb into 4 pieces and place them in the center of the plate alongside the puree

30. 30

    Place “blobs” of goats curd next to the lamb and sprinkle some squash cubes around the plate too