There is a fantastic organisation in Newcastle called Your Food Collective. It is an online shopping business that supports our local producers by boxing up fresh, seasonal produce for collection at various local hubs around town or by home delivery method. I have a local hub literally just down the road so I popped an order in and the day I received it, set about compiling the recipe that had been in my head for days. This was it. Better than I imagined because the produce is freakin’ amazing. The lamb ribs were gloriously rich and tender, the salad was so fresh and full of flavour and the Kasundi yoghurt? Shut the front door.

Obviously if you are not from Newcastle the Kasundi from Your Food Collective may be a bit difficult to get but I have had a look and it is available from specialty food shops and online. You could use a normal Indian style mango chutney as a substitute if you like. You could also use any other cut of lamb that you like as this would be equally good with loin chops, cutlets, back strap etc but the cooking time and method will obviously vary.

If you are from Newcastle and you want to try Your Food Collective’s amazing produce, you can shop here:

https://yourfoodcollective.com/

 

Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cooking time: 2 Hours

$$ Medium Budget

 

Serves 4

 

For the lamb:

1kg of lamb ribs

2cm piece of ginger, grated

2 cloves of garlic, grated

1/4 cup of olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbs of honey

1 tsp of ground cumin

1 tsp of ground coriander

1/2 tsp of turmeric

1/2 tsp of chilli powder

1/2 tsp of garam masala

Sea salt and pepper

1 cup of greek yoghurt

3 tbs of Kasundi (Indian style tomato chutney)

Toasted sliced almonds for garnish

Lemon wedges to serve

 

For the Warm Salad:

 

1 bunch of dutch baby carrots, tops removed

1/2 a cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets

120 gm of assorted salad leaves

1/2 tsp of ground cumin

1/2 tsp of ground coriander

Olive oil for drizzling

Sea salt and pepper

 

For the Onion & Mint Sambal:

 

1 red onion, finely sliced

1/2 cup of mint leaves

1/2 cup of coriander leaves

2 tbs of white vinegar

1 tbs of caster sugar

 

Preheat the oven to 160°C

 

To prepare the lamb ribs place the ginger, garlic, olive oil, honey, lemon juice and spices in small bowl, season with salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Place the lamb ribs in a lined baking tray and spoon over the marinade, then use your hands to really rub it in. Cover tightly with foil and place in the oven for 1.5 hours.

 

To prepare the veggies, place them in a lined baking tray, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with the spices, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

 

After 1.5 hours, remove the foil from the lamb ribs and increase the oven temperature to 200°C. Pop the vegetable tray on a lower rack and bake the ribs and veggies for a further 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the lamb ribs are golden and crispy.

 

To make the sambal, place the mint, coriander, sugar and vinegar in a small food processor and blitz until you have a paste. Break up the onion with your fingers and then mix with the herb mixture. The vinegar and sugar will naturally break down the onion and start a ‘cooking’ process so the onion will lose its raw flavour and provide a sweet acidity that will really cut through the richness of the lamb ribs.

Place the yoghurt and kasundi in a bowl and stir two or three times in a folding motion. You want it to look nice and swirly.

 

To plate the dish, place a pile of salad leaves on each of four plates. Divide the roasted vegetables between the plates on top of the salad and then spoon over any remaining spiced oil from the vegetable tray. Next to the salad pile, place a dollop of the kasundi yoghurt and use the back of the spoon to spread it out slightly. Arrange the ribs on top of the yoghurt, divide the sambal into little piles and sprinkle over the toasted almonds. Spoon over any remaining pan juices and sambal juices and serve with lemon wedges.