LAMB, BEETROOT & KUMARA SALAD WITH FETA CREAM

Ingredients 2 medium beetroot, unpeeled • 3 stalks rosemary, leaves pulled off & chopped • 4 medium kumara, peeled • 3 red onions, cut into wedges • 2 whole bulbs garlic, unseparated & unpeeled • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling • 4 lamb rumps, skin & fat removed • neutral oil (eg. grapeseed or coconut), for frying • 250g green beans, topped • lemon wedges • ¼ cup chopped fresh mint, parsley, coriander or chives Feta cream • 100g feta, crumbled • 1 cup unsweetened yoghurt (I like Greek) • 2 tablespoons finely chopped mint leaves • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard • 2 teaspoon honey • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

This salad works equally well in winter or summer as it’s quite grunty, and you can serve it warm or cold. You can also use lamb steaks — don’t need to oven-bake them, just fry until rare to medium-rare. Leftover roast lamb would also be amazing. Pumpkin could be used instead of kumara. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-bake. Cut the top and tails off the beetroot, then slice in half. Place on a large square of foil, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stuff a bit of the rosemary in between the halves. Close up the foil.

Cut the kumara into 4cm pieces. Place in a large roasting tray along with the onion, garlic bulbs, remaining rosemary and the olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper, and toss. Add the beetroot parcels to the tray and bake in the preheated oven for an hour. Remove from the oven and set aside. Increase the oven to 220°C fan-bake. Remove the lamb from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Pat dry with paper towels and season generously all over with salt and pepper.

Heat a frying pan over a high heat. When very hot, add 1 tablespoon frying oil and the lamb, and fry to brown all over. Transfer to a roasting tray and roast in the oven for 10 minutes for medium-rare. Remove from the oven, cover lightly with foil and rest for at least 10 minutes.

To make the feta cream, combine the feta, yoghurt, mint, mustard, honey and lemon juice in a bowl. Add half the roasted garlic by squeezing it out of the skin. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To cook the beans, rinse the frying pan and add ¹∕ ³ cup water, then replace over a high heat. When boiling, add the beans and cook for a few minutes, turning the beans now and then, until bright green and cooked but still firm to the bite. Plunge into a bowl of cold water if you like, to keep them nice and green. Place the beans in a large salad bowl with the kumara, onion and remaining squeezed-out garlic.

Remove the beetroot from the foil when cool enough to handle, discard the rosemary and rub the skins off. Slice finely. Just before serving, add to the salad and toss through.

Slice the lamb and arrange on the salad. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, squeeze over some lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Scatter over the chopped fresh herbs. You can dollop with the feta cream — and have extra on the table so people can help themselves. PREP 20 minutes COOK 1 hour 15 minutes SERVES 5–6