Aside from being quick to make and deliciously tart & tender, the health benefits of these lamb steaks are a boon to savor

If you have an aversion to cooking meat because you associate meat preparation with a labor intensive time commitment, you’ll love this dish. Investment? About 10 minutes prep and 10 minutes cook time.

With so little work, you’ll have plenty of gusto left over to enjoy the wonderfully robust flavors of this tender lamb. Tart lemon zest balances the lightly gamey flavor of lamb, cumin grounds the dish and oregano provides a finishing floral aroma. If that sounds like a mouthful, that’s because it is! A tasty one at that.

Quick but intensely nourishing

Eating lamb a few times per month can greatly improve your health. Especially if you’re healing a compromised gut from an autoimmune issue or from an eating disorder. In either case your body will be starving for nutrients.

If you buy 100% grass-fed lamb that’s been raised on pasture the nutrients in your steak will include:

omega-3s and omega-6’s (Conjugated linoleic acid/ CLA)
a complex of B vitamins (B12, B1, B2, B3, B6, B9 and biotin)
lost of minerals like, selenium, zinc, phosphorus
plenty of protein

To get these benefits, do your best to get pasture raised lamb. Studies have shown that confined lamb raised on feed contains only a small fraction of the these and other beneficial nutrients found in grass-fed lamb born of grass-fed mothers.

What are the benefits of these nutrients?

Reduced body fat and improved lean body mass to start.

That’s right, eat lamb to help your body stay naturally lean. Lamb will also help:

build a healthy immune system
improve bone mass,
improve heart health
improve blood sugar regulation
and again, reduce body fat and improve lean body mass!

Double the health benefits of lamb when making this recipe

Eating lemon peel has many health benefits too:

it has a natural metabolism boosting effect
it will improve your digestion
improve your cholesterol
support bone health
and even amp up your cancer prevention, specifically reducing your chances of breast and colon cancer

I bet you’re ready to find a pasture-raised butcher and some organic lemons!

Make an extra serving for left overs

You’ll love this as a lunch idea, or for dinner the following night. Cook an extra serving, chop it up into cubes and toss it into my Lebanese Butternut Squash Salad With Goat Cheese & Pine Nuts or simply a bowl of Basic Savory Quinoa.

If you add the lamb to a pre-made batch of quinoa, gently reheat both quinoa and meat tossed together when you’re ready to eat. Mix in some fresh arugula, top with tahini and/ or plain yogurt, or even just some EVOO, parsley and fresh cracked pepper, and you’ll have a nearly instant mouth watering meal.

Serve

Serve alongside a basic side salad like my arugula, shallot and walnut salad in the photos, or for a more filling meal add a portion of grains like quinoa, amaranth, millet, or roasted veggies.

To bring out this dish’s Mediterranean roots serve with a dollop of yogurt, tahini or 10 Minute Homemade Hummus. Garnish with fresh parsley and/ or cilantro. Mix and match as you like, with any of these combos you’ll be in for an incredible meal!

10 Minute Zesty Leg of Lamb Steaks

Created by Patryce Kinga Bak on May 4, 2016

This is one of those recipes that requires only a handful of ingredients and very little work, but its fragrant flavors would never betray how simple it was to make. Lamb, zest, oregano, cumin, salt + pepper. That’s it!

Prep Time: 10m
Cook Time: 10m
Total Time: 20m

Serves: 2
Yield: 2 steaks

Ingredients

2 pasture raised Leg of Lamb Steaks or Lamb Loin Chops (roughly 1 inch thick)
1 tablespoon Avocado Oil, Ghee or Duck Fat

Rub

freshly grated zest of 3 Organic Lemons
1 tablespoon Dried Oregano
2 teaspoons Cumin, ground
1 teaspoon Himalayan or Celtic Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns, fresh cracked

Garnish

1/2 Lemon or wedges
a few sprigs Parsley, chopped

Optional Side Salad

bunch of Baby Arugula
2 Shallots, sliced
1/4 cup Raw Walnuts
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Fine Balsamic Vinegar

Instructions

Before you microplane your lemons, scrub and rinse them vigorously with vinegar to remove any residues and potential pesticides, even when organic.
Combine ingredients for the rub in a small bowl.
Using a large glass or ceramic dish lay out the filets and cover both sides of the filets thoroughly with the rub. Lightly massage into the meat. Set aside for about an hour, or at least 15 minutes. (Although it's not necessary, feel free to let it marinade overnight.)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Heat oil or ghee in an oven proof pan. Add steaks and sear on one side on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Flip the steaks and place in the oven.
Roast 8 minutes for a 1 inch thick steak to get a well done steak. If available, you can check with instant-read thermometer that the center reads 135°F.