Beeswax, Lamb, Olives and River Stones

In 2021, Beef + Lamb Young Ambassador Chef, Sam Heaven designed a special lamb dish to tell the diner about where he grew up.  He wanted to use the products from his environment to tell the story on the plate.  He grew up on an olive grove with beehives and lambs in the paddocks and has included all of these ingredients.

Sam pulled the ingredients together using beeswax from his grandfather’s hives and got creative with the plating using river stones to emulate one of his favourite childhood pastimes – swimming in the local river near his home.

Everything on this dish has a meaning to Sam in one way or another, and tells the story of where he came from.  As well as being an interesting story the components all come together as a delicious and exciting dish that provides a wonderful eating experience.

For National Lamb Day, Sam has shared his recipe with us so you can give it a go at home and try if for yourself!

Beeswax Aged Lamb Saddle with Pulled Lamb Neck & Caviar Tart with Lamb, Nasturtium Tea

 BRAISED LAMB TART - Serves 4

 Ingredients:

1kg lamb neck
5 litres of chicken broth or water
1 bulb of garlic, roughly chopped
1 leek, cut into 2cm chunks
2 onions, cut into 2cm chunks
3 sticks celery, cut into 2cm chunks
2 kg beef bones
250ml Cab Sav vinegar
250ml red wine
2 or 3 bay leaves
10 peppercorns
Handful of thyme      

 Method:
Brown the veges off in a pot.  Add the lamb necks and also brown off and when dark, deglaze with the vinegar and reduce down to almost nothing.  It should be a thick liquid in the bottom of the pot.

Add the red wine and reduce again until the liquid looks very thick and has almost disappeared again.  Add the chicken broth and place in the oven to cook at 140°C for 4-5 hours.

Once cooked, remove the lamb necks and bones and pass the braising liquid.  Return the meat into the hot liquid to cool down.  This ensures the meat does not dry out.  Pull the meat and pass the liquid again, set aside until you are ready to use it.

TART SHELL

Ingredients:
½ cup flour
31g butter, chilled
½ egg 
pinch salt

Method:
Rub butter into flour and salt to make breadcrumbs, add egg and mix to a dough, do not over mix. Roll out the dough to half a centimetre thick and chill.  Line tart tins and blind bake in the oven at 180°c for 7-10mins.

OLIVE COMPOTE

Ingredients:
250g black olives
1 cup water
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp oil
4 Tbsp sugar

Method:
Place all ingredients into a pot and simmer for one hour. Blend to a fine paste and season. 

LAMB TEA

Ingredients:

2 roasted lamb bones
1 litre of lamb stock (cooked from the braised lamb necks)
3 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 lemon, chopped in half 
Lacto fermented tomato water (optional for an extra umami hit – see recipe below)

Method:
Place lamb braising liquid into a pot and simmer over a low heat to reduce sauce to a point that covers the back of the spoon. Place the remaining ingredients into the pot with the sauce for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and allow it to infuse. Refresh (see cooking tip below), check seasoning and add tomato water (if using) to taste.

Cooking Tip: To refresh - with a lot of Sam’s sauces he likes to use a tip he calls ‘refresh’.  This means to add some of the spices/herbs or any main flavour ingredient which he has in the sauce recipe.  This adds the layers of flavour in the sauce and highlights the flavour that you want to be the strongest.

BEESWAX LAMB SADDLE

Ingredients:
2 lamb loins – serve 4
Beeswax (optional) –1kg
Fennel pollen
Aged Nasturium capers – see recipe below
Pickled Daikon – see recipe below

 Method:
To prepare the lamb, hang on the bone in a chiller for 3-5 days.  Bone out the lamb loin.  Melt some beeswax in a pot and coat the lamb loins in the beeswax.  Hang to age for a minimum of 10 days.

When ready to serve, remove the beeswax from the lamb and season.  Cook in a hot pan until medium rare and finish by basting the lamb in some lacto tomato water, leaves and butter.  Make a glaze by adding more tomato water and reduce.  Add one spoon of lamb jus (from the lamb neck liquid) and serve with a sprinkle of fennel pollen, capers and Daikon.

Cooking Tip: Sam says if you don’t have access to beeswax, then you can skip this step and pan fry the lamb loins as per the instructions above.

LACTO TOMATO WATER

200g tomatoes
Salt – 2% of tomatoes weight

Cut tomatoes in half and place in a vac pac bag flat with salt and seal tightly to remove as much air as possible.  Ferment for 5-7 days.  Blend then pass through a j-cloth and store in a container.

PICKLED DAIKON
50g sugar
50g water
100g vinegar
1 Daikon

Method:
Slice the spicy tail end of the daikon into thin strips.  Bring the sugar and water to the boil and allow to cool.  Add the Daikon and compress.

AGED NASTURTIUM CAPERS
Fresh Nasturtium capers
200g vinegar
10g salt

Method:
Dissolve salt in vinegar, add capers and bring to the boil.  Place in a jar and allow to age for up to 18 months.

TO SERVE:

Caviar
Horseradish
Kohlrabi – if this is not available could be substituted with Radish

Reheat all components. Place the olive compote into the bottom of each tart case followed by the pulled lamb.  Place the fresh kohlrabi on top of the lamb to look like fish scales and top with finely grated horseradish on ½ of the tart, on the other ½ place caviar.

Cook the lamb loin as per the method above and serve with the lamb and caviar tarts with the lamb tea by bringing the tea to boil then serving in a tea pot.