Don’t we love spring!
Fruit trees are in flower, new shoots on the trees emerging and of course the spring lamb.
Sorry, I was going to talk about Citrus which is abundant, but everywhere you look at the moment these little guys are bouncing everywhere especially out in our neighbourhood; Muriwai.
What is spring lamb?
A lamb is a sheep that is under one year old and is known for its delicate flavour and tender flesh. Young lamb is slaughtered between 6 and 8 weeks – it is the palest of all lamb. Spring (also called early or summer lamb) is 3 to 5 months old.
Hard as it may be to talk about but what makes a spring lamb in demand by chefs, is the fact that:
They are only 3-5 months old so about as tender as you could have.
The meat is very sweet as they have been feeding on milk and tender spring shoots of grass.
With daylight savings now begun, it’s also a good time to give the BBQ a good clean.
Start by turning up the heat and burning off any old oil and cobwebs.
Cut a lemon in half and wipe the grills clean, the acid in the lemon will help clean it.
Wipe the grills down with a lightly oiled paper towel.
Now for the lamb recipe cooked on your cleaned BBQ.
Feel free to swap out the spring for normal lamb!
Barbecued light lamb lunch
(serves 4)
4 lamb shoulder chops (about 400-500g)
150g soft cows feta
½ avocado
1 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp avocado oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
Drizzle the lamb chops with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook on a hot BBQ for 10-12 minutes, remove from heat and allow to rest.
Blitz the feta with the avocado and sour cream until smooth. Put in a small serving bowl and drizzle with avocado oil. Serve the lamb with the feta dip and salad (below).
Salad
1 x 2 pack Baby Gems (baby cos lettuces)
½ cup fresh coriander leaves
2 single stalks spring onion, roughly chopped
10 chives, roughly chopped
handful fresh fennel fronds
½ cup mint leaves
2 Tbsp avocado oil
Quarter the lettuces, rinse and put in a large salad bowl with all other salad ingredients. Toss and drizzle with avocado oil.