Spring lamb, sheep milk yogurt, asparagus and new potatoes – a meal that shouts spring is here!

As I have mentioned before I work for a boutique dairy company and while we produce cow milk products year round during the sheep milk season (mid-September to late January) we also produce a range of sheep milk products including sheep milk yogurt and a range of cheeses.

We have millions of sheep in New Zealand, but the sheep milk
industry is still fairly young and while there is a lot of work being done by sheep milk is still a very seasonal product and one that is currently produced by only a few farmers and only used by a very few boutique cheese makers.

Spicy Yogurt Marinated Lamb

On this occasion I used a ready-trimmed rack of lamb, but I have also used this marinade on lamb rump.

While I used sheep milk yogurt here, cow milk yogurt also works.

Serves 4

½ cup natural sheep milk yogurt
1 tbsp harissa paste
2 lamb racks, each with 6-8 chops/cutlets, trimmed
olive oil
3 large onions, thickly sliced
a handful of fresh coriander, chopped

1              Place yogurt and harissa paste in a bowl and mix to combine. Place lamb in a shallow dish, pour over yogurt and turn to coat.
Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight.

2              One hour before cooking, remove lamb from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 220°C. Line a baking dish with foil and brush lightly with oil.

3              Scatter onions over base of prepared dish. Remove lamb from marinade and allow any excess to drain off, then place lamb on top of onions and roast for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 200°C and cook for 10 minutes per 500g or until cooked to desired
doneness. Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil and let stand for 10 minutes before carving.

4              To serve, cut lamb into cutlets, place onion on serving plates, top with lamb cutlets and scatter with fresh coriander.

Serving suggestion: Accompany with roast new potatoes and a steamed green vegetable of your choice.

Note: Many of these producers can be found at the Napier Urban Food Market each Saturday morning and/or at the Hawke’s Bay Farmers’
Market each Sunday morning.

Happy cooking and eating.

Recipe by Rachel Blackmore