Monday, August 17, 2009

Project HealthKick: Spiced Lamb with Broccolini


I've been *ahem* stacking on the kilos lately, and I blame the lack of Zumbo cake for messing up my metabolism. I just can't win...


So, to compensate, I dug out the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet book to find a recipe that is deemed to be 'healthy'. I tried some of the recipes a few years ago when the book first came out, though personally, I'm not sure about the diet as such, given the large amount of red meat in the weekly meal plans. But I will try to cut down on the fats and sugars I eat, and the recipes in the book are a good starting point for meal ideas.


Let's see how long this lasts...


This first effort was Spiced Lamb Fillets with Broccolini. I used some amazingly good (and expensive) lamb backstraps and they turned out beautifully tender. And I loved the sweetness of the raisins in the accompanying jammy onion mixture.

Spiced Lamb Fillet with Broccolini
Serves 2

Ingredients
· 1 clove garlic, crushed
· 1 tbsp olive oil
· 400 g lamb fillets (try and keep the fillets whole)
· 1 brown onion, sliced
· 1 tbsp tomato paste

· ¼ cup (60ml) red wine vinegar
· ¼ cup raisins or sultanas
· ¼ cup shredded mint
· ½ tsp paprika
· 2 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted
· 1 tbsp lemon juice
· 1 bunch broccolini
· 2 tbsp tzatziki, to serve

Method
1. Place garlic and oil in a bowl. Add lamb and toss to coat thoroughly.
2, Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Brown lamb in batches, about 1-2 minutes each side, then remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add onion to pan and cook for 5 minutes, or until soft.
4. Stir through tomato paste, vinegar, raisins, mint, paprika, pine nuts and lemon juice and cook for 2-3 minutes. Return meat to pan to heat through.
5. Meanwhile, microwave the broccolini for 1 ½ minutes on high.
6. Top the lamb with onion mixture and a dollop of tzatziki. Serve the broccolini alongside.

Recipe adapted from the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet

8 comments:

  1. ohh woolies has been advertising their broccolini so i suppose it's in season right now? and i'm not a fan of lamb but that looks like an absolutely gorgeous piece of meat cooked to perfection!

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  2. Good luck with Project Healthkick! I should be going on one of these two - I have also stacked on the kilos since starting my food blog... but I love my sweets and fatty foods too much to give it up! haha! :)

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  3. wow, the lamb looks really nice & juicy, even though i'm not a huge fan of lamb! good luck with the healthkick... i need to start one too, my clothes are a little too snug now!

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  4. Ooh nice, I need to go on a similar healthy period to make up for all the cake consumption! This looks very tasty for a healthy dish, love the addition of raisins!

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  5. Nice timing with your healthkick, you'll be all sorted by the time summer starts letting itself be known!

    This looks like a really tasty recipe, and you've cooked the lamb perfectly! I'm interested to see more CSIRO recipes. I remember someone expressing concern at the amount of tuna it said to eat, or something like that? Anyway, good luck with it!

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  6. I need to go on one too - Ever since Zumbos got so popular, I've been visiting Breadtop and La Renaissance - it's worse than my fortnightly cake binges, I swear. The lamb looks lovely, sultanas and lamb work so well together

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  7. I have the same CSIRO book and tried a couple of the recipes. They all turned out very nice.

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  8. hi Trisha - I did get the broccolini at Woolies! Another way to serve is to fry up some haloumi slices and drape them over the broccolini - nice!

    hi Rilsta - haha, all that extra weight was just getting to much for me. But all things in moderation, I say, so I'll have the occasional cake to keep me motivated.

    hi Betty - I didn't take any photos at first, then when I cut the lamb and saw how good it was, I just had to!

    hi Steph - I'm surprised at how many people are (allegedly) putting on weight. I blame the cake, too!

    hi Conor - 3 months to summer - that's my mantra. And yes, I'd heard the same thing about the diet. I'm hoping that my mixing around of the meal plans won't matter too much.

    hi Chris - ooh, Breadtop - I can't even look at that place without feeling my thighs starting to bulk up!

    hi Ellie - the recipes are good, aren't they? Easy, too, which is the main thing for me.

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