* This is a sponsored post for Try Lamb *
This tasty lamb salad has all the Mediterranean vibes, as it is bursting with olives, feta and sun-dried tomatoes all brought together with a simple balsamic dressing. All on a crisp bed of greens and topped with perfectly grilled lamb chops. A great salad to serve on a big platter for when entertaining guests.
This is a delicious and affordable salad that is perfect for summer and entertaining. Lamb is such a strong flavour, that a little bit goes a long way making it a great value meat - especially when it comes to a salad where it is the star of the show.
We love entertaining and cooking for friends, but we don't want to spend a fortune. Try Lamb challenged us to come up with a lamb recipe that was perfect for entertaining on a budget. Bulking dishes out with something cheaper like giant couscous is a good way to save money like we have done with this salad.
As part of the Try Lamb, Love Lamb campaign, myself and a group of other bloggers are creating recipes that show how easy lamb is to incorporate in to family friendly meals. You can find out more by visiting the Try Lamb website and following them on Instagram and Facebook.
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Why should you try it?
- A new way to enjoy lamb
- Ready in only 30 minutes
- Easy to adapt with different salad items
- High protein salad
Step by step
One: Put the lamb chops, 40g of the herbs, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 2 tablespoon each of oil and balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper into a large dish. Mix well so the lamb is coated and put in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Two: Make the salad dressing by combining the remaining oil, vinegar, garlic and herbs.
Three: Cook the couscous according to the instructions. When cooked, rinse in cold water and set aside.
Four: Dry heat a griddle pan over a medium heat. Place the marinated lamb chops in the pan and cook for 3 minutes each side.
Five: Place the salad leaves on a large platter and pour the dressing over.
Six: Evenly sprinkle the couscous over the leaves.
Seven: Add the cherry tomatoes, olives and sliced strawberries.
Eight: Add the cooked lamb chops.
Nine: Finish off by adding the sun-dried tomatoes, crumbled feta and pine nuts.
Health benefits of lamb
Salads are always a good opportunity to have a healthy and balanced meal and this definitely ticks those boxes. We started the salad with a base of mixed greens - spinach, watercress and rocket and then topped it with filling couscous, sun-dried tomatoes packed with healthy fats and then balsamic marinated lamb chops that have been griddled to perfection.
Lamb is not only a rich source of protein, but it is also a great source of many vitamins and minerals, such as iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. You could make this even leaner by cooking the lamb under the grill too.
We love fruit on salads too, so we added some strawberries as they compliment the lamb and strawberries and balsamic go so well together. It's also Wimbledon at the moment too, so we are all about the strawberries!
How to cook lamb
There are many different ways you can cook lamb and serve it with this salad, but we grilled some lamb chops to perfection to serve on top of this salad as I think it makes a really beautiful salad, which is perfect for serving up on a big platter for guests to help themselves. That way little bits of lamb don't get lost in the salad.
To cook the lamb chops, we marinated them in a mixture of olive oil, balsamic, garlic and a mixture of fresh herbs and then cooked them on a griddle pan for 3 minutes each side.
This salad is also a good way to use up leftover lamb from a roast dinner - just shred it up and mix it in to this delicious salad.
Salad dressing
We went with a balsamic-based dressing. If you have never had lamb and balsamic together, you are missing out. The sweetness of the balsamic vinegar really compliments the lamb. We mixed that with a good glug of excellent quality olive oil, some salt and pepper and then a whole load of fresh herbs. This dressing is quite mint heavy, as mint and lamb are the perfect match.
How to adapt
We used giant couscous in this salad to make it a bit more filling, but you could use any grain like rice, quinoa or pearl barley or even roast some new potatoes to mix through the salad. Roasted sweet potato and butternut squash work well too.
You can also swap any of the salad ingredients for your favourite ones, or whatever you have left in your salad draw that needs using up. You don't want anything too overpowering, as the lamb should really be the star of the show here, but anything that would compliment it. A salad should have a good mixture of textures and plenty of crunch.
Some of our favourite toppings for this salad other times we have made it include chopped walnuts, grilled halloumi, pomegranate, apricots, grilled peaches, chickpeas and sunflower seeds.
FAQS
If you have leftovers of this lamb salad, then it will store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. It is best not to dress the salad until just before you are going to eat it, as it will get soggy.
It of course wouldn't be a lamb salad without the lamb. But if you wanted to try something a little different, you could use boneless and skinless chicken thighs instead of lamb.
Extra tips
- After the lamb has finished cooking, deglaze the pan with some red wine vinegar. Allow to reduce and then use this as an extra dressing.
- You can also swap any of the salad ingredients for your favourite ones, or whatever you have left in your salad draw that needs using up.
- Use good quality oil and balsamic for the dressing as you can really taste the difference.
- We used lamb chops but you can use diced lamb or even leftover roast lamb.
More lamb recipes
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DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE RECIPE ↓
Recipe
Warm Lamb Salad
Ingredients
- 800 g lamb chops
- 60 g couscous
- 100 g mixed salad leaves (we used spinach, rocket and watercress)
- 50 g mixed fresh herbs finely chopped (we used rosemary, parsley and mint)
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 5 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 pinch sea salt and black pepper
- 50 g olives
- 70 g sun-dried tomatoes
- 30 g feta cheese crumbled
- 20 g toasted pine nuts
- 4 strawberries hulled and sliced
- 10 cherry tomatoes halved
- tzatziki (to serve)
- hummus (to serve)
- pitta bread (to serve)
Instructions
- Put the lamb chops, 40g of the herbs, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoon each of oil and balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper into a large dish. Mix well so the lamb is coated and put in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Make the salad dressing by combining the remaining oil, vinegar, garlic and herbs.
- Cook the couscous according to the instructions. When cooked, rinse in cold water and set aside.
- Dry heat a griddle pan over a medium heat. Place the marinated lamb chops in the pan and cook for 3 minutes each side.
- Place the salad leaves on a large platter and pour the dressing over.
- Evenly sprinkle the couscous over the leaves.
- Add the cherry tomatoes, olives and sliced strawberries.
- Add the cooked lamb.
- Finish off by adding the sun-dried tomatoes, crumbled feta and pine nuts.
Notes
- After the lamb has finished cooking, deglaze the pan with some red wine vinegar. Allow to reduce and then use this as an extra dressing.
- You can also swap any of the salad ingredients for your favourite ones, or whatever you have left in your salad draw that needs using up.
- Use good quality oil and balsamic for the dressing as you can really taste the difference.
- We used lamb chops but you can use diced lamb or even leftover roast lamb.
Shivani Raja
You’ve styled this salad so beautifully!
Diana
I LOVE Mediterranean flavours and this salad sounds so good! Love the hummus dip too!