If you’re thinking of hand picking one special dish to celebrate the arrival of spring, this would be top of the pile for me. Packed with all the fresh flavours one associates with the season, these lamb steaks are exquisite, simple to prepare and even easier to cook.
Make the red wine sauce and pea puree ahead of time, even par boil your potatoes in advance and then you can concentrate on cooking up your lamb and toasting your potatoes, while the sauce and puree can be warmed through just as guests arrive. In truth, it’s the red wine reduction and pea puree that truly steal the show!
I’ve cooked this dish with lamb fillets as well. Two fillets served six people and the process was exactly the same. Marinate with the same ingredients. Then to cook, sear both sides hot for a few seconds to brown then place in a preheated oven/bbq at 200C for 5 minutes or so (till internal temperature hits 54C). Absolutely stunning in the Traeger or Kamado Joe with a little whiskey smoke. Rest and serve as below.
what you’ll need
Equipment: Large sauté/frying pan/griddle, 3 saucepans, blender, medium dish (for the marinade). Optional: charcoal grill.
INGREDIENTS
lamb steaks:
- 4 lamb steaks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed and sliced
- sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
- ½ lemon, zested
toasted potatoes:
- 400g charlotte potatoes, cut in half
pea purée:
- 1 medium white onion, finely diced
- 25g unsalted butter
- 400g peas, defrosted
- 150ml boiling water
red wine reduction:
- 1 onion
- 15g butter
- 400ml vegetable stock
- 200ml red wine
- 1 tsp red currant jelly
METHOD
for the lamb steaks and toasted potatoes:¹
Mix the oil, garlic, rosemary and lemon zest together and rub into the lamb steaks. Season, cover and leave to marinade in the fridge for a couple of hours. Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes before you’re ready to cook.
Throw your potatoes in a large pan. Fill with water, add a couple of pinches of salt and bring to the boil over a high heat. As soon as bubbles appear, turn the heat down to medium/high and simmer for 10 – 12 minutes until tender. Drain the potatoes and set aside.
Heat a large frying pan or griddle over a high heat till it shimmers. Sear the lamb steaks until they’re well browned and crisping on both sides – no more than a couple of minutes. Lift out and set aside covered with a sheet of foil. Toss the potatoes into the hot frying pan, season well and fry for 2 minutes, stirring, until just coloured. Take off the heat and set aside.
Or, light up your charcoal and get it to white hot. Toss on your lamb steaks and sear ‘dirty’ for a minute or so either side.
¹ If you’ve gone for lamb fillet, marinade as above, then to cook, sear both sides hot for a few seconds to brown then place in a preheated oven/bbq at 200C for 5 minutes or so (till internal temperature hits 54C). Rest and serve as above.
for the pea purée:
Throw your onions and butter into a medium saucepan with a pinch of salt and pepper. Sweat over a medium heat for 5 minutes until they are soft and translucent.
Increase the heat to high then add the peas and boiling water. Cover and bring to a rapid boil for 3 minutes.
Transfer to a blender and blend the peas and all the cooking liquid on full speed for 1 minute, until smooth and velvety. Transfer the purée to a small saucepan and set aside.
for the red wine reduction:
In a small saucepan over a medium high heat, throw in your butter and onion. Season and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 – 15 minutes until caramelised and golden brown but not burning. Turn up the heat to high and pour in your stock. Reduce to half then top up with red wine. Add your red currant jelly and transfer to a blender. Blend at high speed for 40 seconds before transferring back to your saucepan and return to a simmer. Reduce by half again and season to taste. Set aside. Reheat when you’re ready to serve.
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