Sweet earth, salty cheese, pink lamb — the cafe plate you can do at home

There's a reason every good cafe has run some version of this plate: beetroot's sweetness and feta's salt were made to argue over lamb, and the lamb wins every time. This is a composed dinner rather than a toss-everything salad — wedges of beetroot roasted until their edges caramelise, a sharp honey-vinegar dressing, rocket, walnuts, and four charred cutlets propped on top. Most of the hour is the beetroot quietly roasting while you do something else. It turns one pack of cutlets into a dinner for two that looks like you ordered it.

55 mins 2 servings Prep 15 minsCook 40 minsMain CourseAustralian

Ingredients

  • 4 Your Farmer grass-fed lamb cutlets (1 pack)
  • 3 medium beetroot, scrubbed and cut into wedges
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to season
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 large handfuls rocket
  • 100g feta, broken into chunks
  • 40g walnuts, toasted and roughly broken
  • 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced

Instructions

For the salad

Heat the oven to 200°C fan-forced. Toss the beetroot wedges with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, salt and pepper on a lined tray and roast for 35–40 minutes until tender to a knife with caramelised edges.

3 beetroot1 tbsp olive oil

While the beetroot roasts, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the vinegar, honey, Dijon and a pinch of salt to make the dressing. Drop the sliced onion into the dressing to soften — it takes the raw edge off.

2 tbsp olive oil1 tbsp red wine vinegar1 tsp honey1/2 red onion

For the cutlets

When the beetroot has 10 minutes to go, pat the cutlets dry, season well, and get a grill pan or heavy frying pan smoking hot.

4 lamb cutlets

Stand the cutlets fat-edge down for a minute to render, then cook 2–3 minutes per side until charred and pink at the bone. Rest for 3 minutes on a warm plate.

Arrange the rocket, warm beetroot, feta and walnuts across two plates, spoon over the dressing and onions, and prop two rested cutlets on each.

rocket100g feta40g walnuts

Pour any resting juices over the lamb and serve while the beetroot's still warm — warm beets, cool feta and pink lamb is the whole point.

Appears in

Your Farmer CSA grass-fed lamb share — Pack B selection of pasture-raised lamb cuts, vacuum-sealed, NSW & ACT delivery
CSA Pastured Lamb Share
From $183.33

Why Lamb Wears Beetroot So Well

Cutlets are the single-rib chops off the rack — the tenderest, quickest-cooking cut in the lamb share, which makes them the natural choice when the meat has to sit proudly on top of a plate rather than hide in a braise. Lamb is the sweetest and richest of the everyday red meats, and beetroot matches that sweetness with earth while feta cuts through both with salt. That three-way balance is why the combination turns up on cafe blackboards from Bowral to Brunswick. Your Farmer® cutlets come from lambs raised on pasture year-round, and that grass feeding gives the meat a brightness that holds its own against big salad flavours. There's a four-pack in every pastured lamb share, and the beetroot brings friends from the garden side of the operation — the same growing philosophy behind our eco-grown produce.

Swaps and Variations

Goat's cheese swaps in for feta with a creamier, tangier result; pumpkin wedges roasted the same way stand in for beetroot in the cooler months when your beets have run out. Baby spinach works where rocket does, and pepitas replace walnuts for the nut-free table. If time is short, vacuum-packed cooked beetroot gets dinner down to 25 minutes — halve the wedges and warm them in a pan with a little of the dressing. And wear the apron for beetroot prep; the colour is as enthusiastic about shirts as it is about the plate. Lamb loin chops handle the same treatment with an extra couple of minutes a side, and leftover cold roast lamb, sliced, makes a fine no-cook version of the same plate.

Storage and Leftovers

Every element keeps well separately: roasted beetroot 4 days in the fridge, dressing a week in a jar, cooked cutlets 3 days airtight. Don't dress the rocket until serving — it wilts within the hour. The built-in leftover move is lunch: pick the lamb off the bones, toss it with the remaining beetroot, feta and leaves, and it's a box you'll look forward to at your desk. If you're weighing up whether a share suits your kitchen, our guide to buying grass-fed lamb online in NSW is the place to start.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use pre-cooked beetroot to save time?

Yes — vacuum-packed cooked beetroot works well. Halve the pieces and warm them in a dry pan or low oven so the salad still has its warm element; you'll save a good half hour.

How do I stop beetroot staining everything else on the plate?

Compose rather than toss: place the beetroot down first, then the leaves, feta and walnuts around and over it, and dress at the end. Tossing everything in a bowl is what turns the whole salad pink.

Is this enough food for two as a complete dinner?

Yes — two cutlets each plus a generous share of roasted beetroot, feta and walnuts is a proper composed main. Add warm crusty bread if you're feeding big appetites, or use two packs of cutlets for four people.

Can I barbecue the cutlets instead of using a pan?

Absolutely — same timing, two to three minutes a side over high heat with the fat edge rendered first. The extra smoke off the grill suits the sweet beetroot even better.

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Vendor:Savill Family Pastoral

CSA Grass Fed Beef Share

Price$176.67
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CSA Pastured Lamb Share

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