Basil and Broccoli Pesto Lamb Bowl

Enjoy Lamb In Spring with This Healthy Recipe: Jessica Cox's Basil and Broccoli Pesto Lamb Bowl

Filled with Fresh Seasonal Flavours and Delicious Textures

Serves: 2
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

4 lamb cuts.lamb loin chops 'fat trimmed'
1 cup (95g) roughly chopped broccoli
florets & stems
2 cups (60g) tightly packed basil
1/4 cup lemon juice + 1 tbsp for dressing
2 cups (300g) pumpkin in approx. 2cm
cubes, skin on
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + 3 tbsp for
roasting & dressing
1 1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 small garlic clove
2 cups (45g) tightly packed rocket
1/2 cup (75g) sliced strawberries
2 tbsp roughly chopped pistachios
1/2 avocado, quartered

Method

Preheat oven to 220°c, fan-forced. Place diced pumpkin on a baking tray and toss with ground cumin and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to coat. Season well with salt and pepper. Place in oven and bake for 20–25 minutes until tender and golden, turning pumpkin cubes over half way.
While pumpkin in roasting, place broccoli, basil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, pumpkin seeds and garlic in a food processor and blend to a nice chunky pesto.
Spoon 3/4 of pesto over the lamb loin chops and use your hands to rub and coat the lamb on both sides.
Bring a grill frying pan to a medium-high heat and cook pesto-coated lamb loin chops on one side for a good 6-7 minutes, allowing the pesto to caramelize and stick to the meat. Flip loin chops and cook on the other side to your liking, then turn chops on their back standing up for a few minutes to allow the fat to caramelize. Remove and rest.
While the lamb is cooking, combine the rocket, strawberries, pistachios and 1 tablespoon each of lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil in a large bowl.
Serve up your bowls by dividing the rocket, strawberry and pistachio salad, along with the cumin-roasted pumpkin. Slice the meat off the chops and divide between the bowls. Top each bowl with 1/4 of an avocado and a generous spoonful of left over pesto. Season well and enjoy.

Tips:
When frying the lamb, some pesto will stick to the pan. Scrape these bits off and sprinkle over the bowl for extra crunch!
To save time, you can use 1/2 cup of store bought pesto and cook as above, skipping step 2.

Build Healthy Lamb Macro Bowls Worthy Of Your Instagram Feed: Take a lesson from nutritionist Jessica Cox to perfect the art of making a healthy #macrobowl (#nomnomnom)

Simple, healthy and filled to the brim with a rainbow of fresh seasonal ingredients, it's no wonder macro bowls are trending on Instagram. Not only are these tasty bowls good for you, they're ideal for a quick and easy midweek dinner or work lunch meal prep – ensuring you're the envy of the office.

Practising nutritionist Jessica Cox believes that macro bowls are one of the simplest ways for balanced eating and has teamed up with Australian Lamb to show how easy it is to create these magical bowls of goodness in your own kitchen.

Coined 'macro' bowls because they hit all your macronutrients, Jessica says cooking up a meal with an appropriate amount of complex carbs, quality fats (such as avocado or extra virgin olive oil) and protein such as lamb provides long-lasting energy and keeps you fuller for longer.

From Asian to Mexican, Moroccan to Italian, any of your favourite cuisines can inspire the ultimate macro bowl. Simply select your preferred carb, good fat, serve in a bowl with a variety of fresh veggies and add a little lamb. Lamb is the perfect protein as it easily marries with a range of different flavours and ingredients.

Jessica Cox's Top Tips For Building The Best Lamb Macro Bowl

Balance your bowl - when creating a balanced bowl, it's important to have all of your macronutrients included for long lasting energy and stable blood sugar levels. This includes:

Complex carbohydrates such as root vegetables or grains (approximately 1/2 cup cooked)
Quality fats such as extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds or avocado (approximately 1/4 cup)
Protein such as lamb (approximately the size of your palm)
Vegetables should make up the remainder of your bowl with a range of colours and an important source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Protein power - including red meat such as lamb in your macro bowl provides a naturally nutritious, good protein source of iron, and zinc, vitamin B12; and a source of magnesium. The form of iron in lamb (heme iron) is absorbed by the body at a higher capacity than plant-based iron sources (non heme iron). The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommends up to 455g cooked red meat such as lamb per week. To meet protein requirements in balance with a diversity of protein intake this would equate up to 120g-150g cooked red meat three times per week to provide an appropriate amount for health and wellbeing. Eating lamb (and beef) regularly can help to maintain your body's iron stores, preventing iron deficiency. Iron is particularly important for babies, toddlers, young girls and women, who are at risk of iron deficiency, as their bodies need more iron to meet the needs for growth and losses through menstruation.

Give lamb some love - Lamb loin chops are a delicious and affordable cut of lamb. They are flavoursome and contain ample meat on the bone. Remember there are range of other lean and flavoursome lamb choices including cutlets, diced cuts, strips and lean mince.

Keep things interesting - when making a balanced bowl, keep in mind that variety is the key to a healthy dietary intake. Continue to mix up your choices of macronutrients and use seasonal vegetables bursting with nutrients.

Give your bowl a boost – for a flavor twist, pimp up your macro bowl by adding some ferments such as a spoonful of kimchi or sauerkraut, which goes wonderfully with lamb.

Jessica Cox is an accredited practicing nutritionist with a Bachelor of Health Science (Nutrition) and over a decade of clinical experience. She is the founder of the JCN Clinic in Brisbane, which focuses on balanced nutrition and dietary education. She's devoted to a healthy and active lifestyle, and when she's not at the clinic you'll find her in the kitchen, creating and photographing delicious culinary delights. Follow Jessica on Instagram at @jescoxnutritionist.

Recipe by Jessica Cox for @australianlamb