Pan-fried lamb with pumpkin seed dressing

Tam West

For the dressing

1	Shallot, very finely chopped
2 Tbsp	Red wine vinegar
¼ cup	Pumpkin seeds (Main)
½ cup	Natural unsweetened Greek yoghurt
2 Tbsp	Creme fraiche
1 squeeze	Lemon juice
1 handful	Chopped flat leaf parsley

For the lamb

500 g	Lamb fillets, trimmed of silver skin
1 drizzle	Olive oil, for rubbing
1	Iceberg lettuce, to serve

Directions

1. For the dressing, place the shallot in a small bowl and pour over the vinegar. Set aside. In a small frying pan, toast the pumpkin seeds over medium-low heat, tossing with a wooden spoon until they begin to pop and you can smell them toasting. Transfer to a plate and leave to cool. Mix together the yoghurt, creme fraiche, lemon juice and parsley. Pour in the shallot mixture, season and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning. Chop half of the toasted pumpkin seeds and add to the dressing. Keep the remaining for sprinkling over the salad. Cover dressing and keep in the fridge.
2. For the lamb, heat a large frying pan over mediumhigh heat. Rub lamb fillets with a little oil. Place in the hot pan and cook for 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
3. Slice lamb fillets into 3–4 pieces before serving drizzled with dressing and a salad of crunchy iceberg lettuce wedges. Oven-roasted potato wedges would complete the meal.