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| Grilled rosemary lamb steaks with a sweet honey and dijon balsamic glaze, served on a bed of sweet potato puree and a side of baby peas |
It has been a while since I last cooked lamb. Although it is one of my favourite meats to eat, it's not one of my favourites to cook, particularly if I have to grill them in the pan.Whenever I decide to make lamb cutlets or steaks for dinner, I have to prepare myself for the intensive clean-up after that. Because the lamb has a substantial amount of fat (one of the reasons they taste so darn good however you cook it), when you sear or fry it in the pan/skillet, oil tends to spit and splatter in every direction. I usually take a good handful of old newspapers and spread them out over the floor and countertop. And then, I'd don my trusty apron (which would have been more effective if they came with long sleeves), stand about a metre away from the stove and extend my arms as far as I could, holding the longest pair of tongs I could find to turn those steaks. These steaks are really good, but the experience could have been better if my clothes and hair didn't smell like my dinner. Not only that, but for the next few hours up until the next morning, the kitchen and rest of the house would smell of grilled lamb.
That said, the lamb was delicious served with sweet potato puree and baby peas (which was all I had at the time). I used the reserved marinade and cooked it down with a little water and sugar to make a glaze to pour over the steaks. This was after weeks of watching My Kitchen Rules and one of the judges, Manu Feidel, kept harping on the need for some sort of sauce in the dishes to bring everything together. Well, I guess the French really love their sauces. But I must say the steaks do taste fantastic with the glaze. If not for the glaze, I would have had the lamb with some mint sauce instead.
Alright now, enough ranting, here is the recipe:
Grilled Lamb Steak with Honey Dijon Balsamic Glaze
Ingredients
500g lamb cutlets or rump steaks
Marinade:
1 tbsp chopped rosemary
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp honey
Salt and black pepper
Method
Combine the lamb with the marinade and leave in fridge for 3-4 hours.
Heat a grill pan/skillet and fry the lamb on medium-high heat, turning once or twice after about 4 minutes on each side until caramelized and done to your liking. Remove and set the meat aside to rest for 8-10 minutes before serving.
To make the glaze, place the remainder marinade in the pan with 1/4 cup water and 1/2 tsp sugar (or to taste). Bring to a boil and reduce to a thick glaze. Taste for seasoning. Pour glaze over the lamb steaks and serve with your favourite sides.
To make the sweet potato mash, peel and cut potatoes into large chunks. Place in a pot of water with a little salt and bring to a boil, uncovered. When potatoes are tender and soft, trasnfer to a bowl and mash/puree finely. Add some butter and a little hot milk and mix through until soft and creamy. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
