Lamb backstrap, pumpkin & pistachio dukkah

A thing of beauty!

Course Dinner

Cuisine Australian, Worldwide

Keyword Lamb backstrap, Lamb loin, Pistachio Dukkah, squash puree

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 1 35

Servings people

Calories 376kcal

Author AnotherFoodBlogger

Cut pumpkin into 1 inch wedges, drizzle with oil and season with salt
If using cherrywood, place the chips into tinfoil and fold up into a parcel. Using a knife stab a few holes to allow the smoke to release and place above the heat source of you BBQ
Cook pumpkin @ 150c on BBQ on indirect heat for 45mins – 1 hour until soft enough that you can stab a knife through easily
Peel the skin away and place in a blender with a knob of butter and blend until smooth
Pass the puree through a sieve to remove any remaining lumps
If you don’t have a bbq or don’t want to smoke the pumpkin roast it on a rack in the oven instead

Roughly chop the pistachios
Toast the cumin, coriander, sesame seeds and salt lightly in a frying pan on low heat for a minute
Stir in the pistachios and allow to cool

Chop the 100g of squash into small 1cm cubes
While the lamb is resting fry the cubes in 1 tbsp olive oil and pinch of salt for 2-3 minutes until golden in colour

Remove lamb from the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to cooking
Rub in olive oil and season the lamb generously with salt
Cook on medium to high heat in a frying pan for 4 minutes, flip and cook for a further 3 minutes or until lamb has an internal temp of 52c. Add a knob of butter and baste the butter over lamb for 30 seconds
Allow lamb to rest on a wire rack for 6-8 minutes before carving
If cooking lamb on BBQ then cook @ 200c for 3 minutes per side or until lamb has a 52c internal temp

Place a spoon of warm puree on one side of the plate and using a spatula (or spoon) brush the puree away from your
Drizzle some pistachio dukkah on the plate along with some sprinkled pickled raisins (about 1 tsp of each)
Cut the lamb into 4 pieces and place them in the center of the plate alongside the puree
Place “blobs” of goats curd next to the lamb and sprinkle some squash cubes around the plate too

this dish can be made with any cut of lamb so you could butterfly a leg and serve it family-style/more rustic
the pickled raisins & dukkah are best made in advance and will keep if stored in an airtight container in the fridge & cupboard
the puree can also be made in advance and heated in a saucepan/microwave when ready to serve – making this dish surprisingly easy to serve at a dinner party
if you can’t get goats curd then mix 3 tbsp goats cheese with 1 tbsp heavy cream until smooth
resting the meat is CRUCIAL to success. If you slice the meat too soon all the juices will spill out onto your chopping board/plate
if you don’t have a BBQ or cherrywood chips you can easily roast the squash in the oven, I like to roast mine in larger pieces as it means cooking it slower and bringing out some natural sugars. Cut into smaller chunks to speed up the cooking time