Coriander-Crusted Lamb with Roasted Squash, Wilted Spinach, and Cumin-Carrot Purée
Grass-fed lamb crusted with crushed coriander seeds and seared until fragrant, with a silky, warmly spiced cumin-carrot purée, caramelized kabocha wedges, and garlicky wilted spinach.
Yield: Serves 4 · Active: 35 min · Total: 50 min · Best in North America from fall through winter, when kabocha and carrots are at their sweetest · Best eaten: early evening
Ingredients
Lamb
8 grass-fed lamb loin chops (or 1½ lb lamb leg steaks)
1 tbsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed
1 tsp Baja Gold sea salt
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tbsp ghee
Cumin-carrot purée
1½ lb carrots, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
2 tbsp grass-fed butter
½–¾ cup chicken bone broth
½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt and a squeeze of lemon
Kabocha and spinach
1 small kabocha or butternut squash, seeded and cut into wedges (no need to peel)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
10 oz fresh spinach
2 garlic cloves, sliced
¾ tsp Baja Gold sea salt, divided
Method
Roast the squash. Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss the wedges with 2 tbsp olive oil and half the salt and roast 25–30 minutes, flipping once, until caramelized.
Make the purée. Simmer the carrots in salted water 15–18 minutes, until very tender. Drain, then blend with the cumin, butter, salt, and enough broth to make it silky. Finish with lemon.
Sear the lamb. Press the crushed coriander, salt, and pepper onto the chops. Sear in hot ghee over medium-high heat 3–4 minutes per side (a slightly lower heat keeps the coriander from burning), until the center reads 125–130°F. Rest 5 minutes.
Wilt the spinach. Warm the remaining olive oil with the garlic over medium heat, add the spinach and salt, and toss 1–2 minutes until just wilted.
Plate. Swoosh cumin-carrot purée across each plate, add the squash and spinach, and set the lamb on top.
Storage: Lamb, up to 3 days refrigerated; purée and kabocha, up to 4–5 days; spinach, up to 2 days.
Nourishment Notes: Grass-fed lamb brings heme iron, B12, zinc, and CLA. Coriander and cumin offer linalool and cuminaldehyde, traditionally used to support digestion. Carrots and kabocha bring beta-carotene (made more absorbable with butter and olive oil) and potassium. Spinach offers folate, magnesium, and vitamin K.
For your cycle: Lamb's heme iron and spinach's folate and magnesium make this especially restorative during the menstrual phase, and kabocha's steady carbohydrate supports the luteal phase.
Sourcing
Lamb — 100% grass-fed, from a local farm, White Oak Pastures, or US Wellness Meats
Carrots, kabocha or butternut, spinach, garlic, and lemons — organic, from a farmers' market
Spices (coriander seeds, cumin seeds) — organic and non-irradiated; buy whole and crush fresh
Grass-fed butter and ghee — organic, cultured butter from 100% grass-fed cows; Ancient Organics ghee
Chicken bone broth — homemade from pasture-raised chicken, or Bonafide Provisions (organic, sold frozen)
Extra virgin olive oil — organic, single-estate, harvest-dated, in dark glass
Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall