I changed my mind …

To be honest: I do not like walnuts. So at first I didn’t want to participate in this cooking event. But on Friday, when I went to our farmer’s market, I got a sample of „Turkish Walnut Pesto“ which astoundingly didn’t taste bad at all. Of course, I didn’t get the recipe and I decided to create my own.

All owners of walnut trees are groaning this year because of the huge crop of walnuts. So I was able to get way too many some on short notice.

Lamb Steaks with Red Walnut Coating

Source:	October 14, 2007 by Sus
Categories:	Walnut, Lamb, Tomatoe, Pesto
Yields:	3 Servings

Ingredients:

6		Lamb steaks
		Paste:
150	gram	Walnut kernels
50	gram	Dried tomatoes
4		Garlic Cloves
		Harissa
5-8		Peppermint leaves
1	dash	Olive oil (or Walnut oil)
1/2	teaspoon	Cumin; ground
		Salt, pepper

Preparation:

Blend the walnuts, tomatoes, peppermint leaves and the garlic in a mixer to a smooth paste. The ground walnuts will emit some oil. If this is not enough, carefully add some olive oil (or walnut oil for those who have it). Add spices to taste.

Spread the paste thickly on the lamb steaks, using about half of the amount, and let them marinate for at least two hours.

Heat some oil in a pan and sauté the the steaks (with the paste) for three minutes on each side.

When serving, add some of the unused paste to the plate.

The steaks were accompanied by a potatoe&courgette gratin with and without goat’s cheese.

Notes:

– The harissa may be substituted by any other hot spice. The paste is supposed to be spicy, but not too hot.
– Do not blend the walnuts too long, because the paste might get bitter.

---

Technorati: Recipe, Walnut, Mutton, Blog Event