Lamb and pistachio mojo verde and mojo picon

Aussies love lamb and so do the Spanish. Paired with pistachio and a selection of Spanish peppers, your next barbecue just got a Spanish-twist. The Chefs' Line

• serves

  4

• prep

  1 hour

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 400 g lamb backstrap, trimmed
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• pea shoots, to serve

Mojo picon

• 4 red capsicum, coarsely chopped
• ½ brown onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 long red chillies, coarsely chopped
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 pinch dried chilli flakes
• 100 ml sherry vinegar, or to taste 
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Pistachio mojo verde

• ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
• ½ bunch mint, leaves picked
• ½ bunch coriander
• 10 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 lemon, zest and juice 
• 50 ml sherry vinegar
• 300 ml extra virgin olive oil 
• 400 g pistachios, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped

Pickled baby onions

• 2 baby onions, peeled and halved lengthways
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 100 g caster sugar
• 100 ml sherry vinegar

Mojete manchego 

• 1 red capsicum
• 5 spring onions
• 4 French shallots, peeled and halved lengthways
• 2 egg yolks 
• pinch of cumin seeds, lightly toasted
• 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 50 ml sherry vinegar
• 100 g black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup parsley leaves

Instructions

For the mojo picon, preheat the oven to 200˚C. Place the capsicum, onion, chilli and garlic in a roasting pan. Drizzle with the oil, cover the pan tightly with foil and roast for 30 minutes or until tender. Transfer to a high speed blender and blitz until smooth. Add the spices and vinegar and season well with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust if necessary.

For the pistachio mojo verde, in a food processor, blitz together the herbs, garlic, cumin, lemon juice, zest, vinegar and half the olive oil until smooth. Add the pistachios and pulse until coarsely chopped. The mixture should be coarse, crunchy and easy to quenelle. Add the rest of the olive oil if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.

For pickled baby onions, heat a heavy-based frying pan until smoking hot. Place the onion halves in the pan, cut-side down and drizzle with a little oil. Cook the onions until the cut side is blackened, then remove from the pan. Add the sugar to the same pan and cook, stirring continuously, until a deep brown caramel forms. Carefully add the vinegar and shake to combine well. Pour over the onions and set aside.

For the mojete manchego, cook the capsicum over the flame of a gas stove or chargrill until blistered and blackened all over. Place in a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and stand for 15 minutes. Peel the capsicum and discard the seeds, then roughly slice. Blanch the spring onions and shallots in lightly salted boiling water for 1 minute, then drain and pat dry well. Chargrill the spring onion and shallots until lightly grilled. Combine the cumin, olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl and season to taste. Arrange the vegetables on a plate, scatter with the olives and parsley and place the egg yolks in the middle. Dress with the vinaigrette.

To cook the lamb, bring the lamb to room temperature. Preheat a chargrill or cast iron pan until very hot. Drizzle the lamb with oil and season well. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the lamb and how you like it cooked. Rest for a few minutes, then thickly slice, reserving any juices. Place the reserved juices, sherry vinegar and brown sugar in a bowl and season to taste.

To serve, divide the sliced lamb between plates and add a spoonful of mojo picon and pistachio mojo verde. Separate the layers of the pickled onions from each other to make little onion cups and divide between plates. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and scatter with pea shoots. Serve with the mojete manchego on the side.

This recipe is from Series 2 of The Chefs' Line airing weeknights at 6pm on SBS. Episodes will be available after broadcast via SBS On Demand. Join the conversation #TheChefsLine on Instagram @sbsfood, Facebook @SBSFood  and Twitter @SBS_Food. Check out sbs.com.au/thechefsline for episode guides, cuisine lowdowns, recipes and more! 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.