Meat mains
Lamb with spinach and lentils
This lamb recipe is quick enough for a midweek dinner, but special enough for a celebration – try it for Easter lunch. A griddle pan, or even a barbeque, is best for the lamb, but a large frying pan is fine. Grilled lamb steaks or chops are an option instead of neck fillet. And rather than cooking the lamb with thyme, you could add ground cumin and coriander seeds to the lentils for a spicier finish. Caramel-sweet onion chutney makes a lovely accompaniment to this dish.
Ingredients
- 1 litre veg or chicken stock, or water
- 80g Puy lentils, rinsed and drained
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 lamb neck fillet (about 250-300g)
- olive oil
- 100g spinach, washed and any large stalks removed
- handful fresh parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Heat the stock or water until boiling. Add the lentils and thyme. Boil for 20 minutes until the lentils are tender but have some bite. Drain and reserve the lentils.
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Step 2
Season the whole lamb fillet and griddle for 10-12 minutes on a medium to high heat, turning occasionally. Remove and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
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Step 3
Add a little olive oil to the pan you cooked the lentils in and add the spinach. Heat gently until just wilted. Add the lentils back to the pan with the parsley, stir gently to combine with the spinach and warm through. Season to taste.
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Step 4
Thickly slice the lamb and serve on top of the lentils.
