A TRIO OF LAMB AND A SAUCEY DELIGHT
New Zealand chefs are spoiled for choice when it comes to designing menu items using New Zealand lamb. The quality, texture, and flavour of the lamb available to chefs perfectly match their creative talents, which was evident when Beef + Lamb Ambassador Chef Mrinal Ghosal cooked his lamb dish for us. As a Beef + Lamb Ambassador, Chef Mrinal is all about celebrating New Zealand’s amazing grass-fed lamb, and his dish is a perfect showcase of its versatility and incredible flavour.
In this dish, lamb is the star, and Mrinal uses a variety of cuts—loin, rib, and offal—to highlight its diverse textures and tastes. The lamb loin is simply seasoned and pan-fried with the cap on, resulting in a beautifully crispy exterior that locks in all the juicy goodness. The real magic happens with the bon bon—a creative twist that keeps the dish exciting and every bite delicious.
What truly makes this dish stand out is the array of sauces that complement the lamb. The marmite sauce is a classic Kiwi addition, blending black garlic, rosemary olive oil, and salt for a punch of umami that will have your taste buds singing. Mrinal’s lamb XO is a nod to sustainability, using lamb hearts and kidneys instead of seafood, which adds a unique depth of flavour and forms a key ingredient in some of the dish components.
To tie it all together, he adds a goats’ cheese hollandaise that’s silky and smooth. The buttery, tangy notes of this sauce bring all the elements of the dish into harmony, and the bright green parsley chlorophyll sauce adds a burst of colour and a fresh finish.
Adding a touch of elegance to the dish are the filled courgette flowers, picked fresh from Mudbrick’s gardens. These beauties not only look stunning on the plate but also bring a lovely seasonal freshness that complements the lamb perfectly.
Mrinal’s tips for creating this dish:
Lamb Rib Bon Bons: Roast the lamb ribs slowly with herbs, then mix the meat with some of the lamb XO sauce for a boost of rich lamb flavour. Reserve the lamb rib bones and carefully pierce the bones back into the balls before freezing. Remove from freezer and while frozen, coat each bon bon with gluten free breadcrumbs ready for deep frying.
Marmite Lamb Dressing: Blitz together marmite, black garlic, rosemary olive oil, and salt to create a purée that’s bursting with savoury goodness.
Goats’ Cheese Hollandaise: Use a quality food processor and keep the butter and goats’ cheese mixture at the right temperature to avoid scrambling the eggs. A side of warm water helps you achieve the perfect consistency.
There is no doubt that this dish is a celebration of New Zealand’s finest ingredients and culinary creativity. Mrinal says it’s a popular dish on the menu at Mudbrick, especially during the summer, but it’s more than just a meal—it’s a delightful journey through the rich flavours of New Zealand.
Lamb Loin | Lamb Rib Bon Bon | Sorrel | Lamb XO | Parsley Chlorophyll | Marmite Lamb Dressing | Goats’ Cheese Hollandaise