Olive & parsley-crusted lamb with kumara citrus salad

Kumara is New Zealand's sweet potato – the sweetness of this root vegetable is balanced by fresh seasonal New Zealand oranges.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive  oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped.
2 tablespoons coriander root, finely sliced
Large pinch of ground chilli
¼ teaspoon each of ground cinnamon and ground cumin
½ Butterkin, seeds and skin removed (800g), cut into large chunks
1 litre chicken stock
¼ teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons dukkah
4 teaspoons sour cream
Fresh coriander leaves, sliced to serve

Lamb
2 lamb striploins, about 300g each
½ cup black olives, pitted
¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tsp grated lemon rind or finely chopped preserved lemon
½ tsp Maldon sea salt

​Salad
500g small red kumara, sold as ‘kumara sweeties’,
roughly peeled
1 tsp salt
1 bag washed baby spinach leaves
3 oranges, peeled and cut into segments
1 small brown onion, finely sliced

Dressing
2 Tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 Tbsp boiling water
½ cup olive oil
3 Tbsp orange juice​

Method

Step 1
Trim the lamb of any sinew or fat. Finely chop olives and combine with parsley, lemon rind and salt. Season the lamb with cracked pepper then spread the seasoning over the lamb with your fingers.

Step 2 
Put the lamb on an oiled oven tray and place in an oven preheated to 220°C. Bake for 20–25 minutes. A striploin of around 300g will cook to medium rare in this time. If the striploins are very small, then cook for less time, about 15–18 minutes.

Step 3
Put the kumara in a saucepan and cover with salted water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 12 minutes. Drain and return to the saucepan and cover with cold water. Leave for a couple of minutes, then drain into a colander.

Step 4  
Scatter spinach leaves onto a platter or into a shallow salad bowl. Cut the kumara into thick slices and layer over the spinach, alternating with orange segments. Sprinkle with the sliced onion.

Step 5
To make the dressing, place the mustard in a small bowl and whisk in the boiling water, drop by drop. Beat in the olive oil drop by drop until the dressing is thick and creamy. Add the orange juice and season with salt and pepper.
​
Step 6
Remove lamb from the oven and allow it to rest, covered with foil, in a warm place for 5 minutes. Slice thickly and serve with a helping of kumara citrus salad on the side, drizzled with the dressing.

Hands-on Time: 10 minutes ​| Cooking time: 20–25 minutes  
Serves: 2 
Credit: Taste Magazine 
Photography: Aaron Mclean​​​

Tip: Lamb striploin is a boned lamb rack – a premium tender cut. It is quite expensive as it is fully prepared, so you have no wastage, just top-quality meat.