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Spring lamb fillets and tomato salad with crackerbread
( MAKES 20 pieces )

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Photo by Tam West

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Lamb fillets pan-fried until they have rose pink juicy meat with a golden crust are small bites of pure joy. You will need to start the yoghurt straining the day before. The whey that collects in the bottom of the bowl from straining the yoghurt can be used as part of the liquid in bread-making or added to soups.

This recipe comes from Kathy's new cookbook Meat & Three, RRP$49.99 from booksellers nationwide and at kathypaterson.co.nz

Strained yoghurt

400 g	Natural unsweetened yoghurt
1 clove	Garlic, new season, peeled and crushed
1 Tbsp	Chopped dill
1	Lemon, finely grated zest only

Tomato salad

250 g	Cherry tomatoes, mixed colours, sliced
1	Chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2	Spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
1 small handful	Coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp	Chopped chives
2 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil

Spring lamb and to serve

2	Spring lamb fillets, trimmed of silver skin, at room temperature
1 drizzle	Olive oil, for rubbing
10 pieces	Line's crackerbread, broken in half, sold as Line's Knaekbrod (see info below)
3	Chopped chives, for garnish
1	Lemon, zest only for serving

Directions

For the strained yoghurt, line a non-metallic sieve with cheesecloth (muslin) and set over a bowl. Mix together the yoghurt, garlic and a good pinch of salt and place in the cheesecloth. Fold over the edges to enclose the yoghurt, cover with a clean tea towel and place in the fridge overnight or for up to 24 hours. Place the thickened yoghurt in a small bowl and mix through the chopped dill and lemon zest. Cover and return to the fridge until ready to use.
For the salad, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and season with salt. Cover. Set aside to allow the flavours to mingle.
Rub the lamb fillets with olive oil. Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat and when hot, place in the lamb fillets. Cook for 5 minutes, turning during cooking to brown all sides. Remove to a warmed plate and season lightly with salt. Cover loosely with foil and a clean tea towel and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
To serve, slice the lamb fillets across the grain of the meat. You should get 10 slices from each fillet. Spread a little of the strained yoghurt mixture on each piece of crackerbread, top with the tomato salad and finish with a slice of lamb. Arrange on a serving plate and snip over some fresh chives. Finely grate over the lemon zest.

Crackerbread

Line Hart makes and sells her delicious hand-rolled crackerbread (Line's Knaekbrod) throughout the country. She has kindly developed a recipe for home cooks which you will find in Meat and Three.