Spiced Lamb

Master Challenge 2 had a few hurdles, some of which I was able to jump but others I could not. Firstly, my key ingredient was supposed to be Lamb Back straps however I could not find them anywhere! I checked out woolies, some local butchers and even Coles and no one had them so had to buy lamb steaks instead. They turned out to be just fine for the dish, if anything, better cos that meant I didn't have to slice a whole piece of back strap.

So first thing first. Lightly toast my spices until fragrant then they are ready to be grounded. That stage was probably the most simple. Spice mix includes; mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric, garamasala and salt. The aroma of the spices filled the kitchen almost instantly. Lamb was coated and set aside for the juicy meat to absorb those awesome spices.





Ok so here comes the twist. On the show, the lamb was served with a frittata, herb salad and tomato salsa. Instead, I decide to serve with the tomato salsa, flat bread and tzatziki. So next step was to make the tzatziki. Very simple recipe I found on google which involved combining Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon, continental cucumber garlic and a pinch of salt. First time lucky...it was perfect!! Well I thought it was perfect.



Stage 3, my balsamic vinegar reduction. This was the most difficult part of my dish. I wouldn't even say it was a success. Balsamic vinegar and sugar is combined in a small pot until thickened then mustard seeds, lemon juice, salt and pepper is added to form a dressing. However, it was way too sweet for some reason. I tried adding more salt, vinegar, mustard, lemon...all in random quantities but still didn't get there....so that dressing was an epic fail unfortunately.




Now that my sides are ready, only thing left to do is cook my lamb. The lamb steaks were quite lean and didn't need much cooking. They were ready in no time. Only a couple minutes on each side. Not much to report there.






FINALLY, plating up time. My tomato salsa was so simple yet I still stuffed up! I bought the wrong cheese and my dressing didn't improve but I served it anyway. My lamb was cooked to perfection and tzatziki on the side with some toasted flat bread. Overall, the dish was good but I need to work on my salad dressing skills. I just could not get those flavours right which did bring the dish down.