The Story of a Lamb Dish: BJ Sebastian

May 2022 is the month where we celebrate the wonderful story around New Zealand lamb and it’s first journey to the other side of the world. May 24th marks 140 years that the first shipment of lamb arrived in the UK and kick started New Zealand’s billion dollar export market.

We asked our newly appointed Ambassador Chefs for some menu inspiration for cooking with lamb. Most of them have cooked overseas using New Zealand lamb which they say has gained a world class reputation. With those memories front of mind, each chef says they feel proud to be able to showcase the best produce that our farmers create on their menus, for Kiwi’s to enjoy.

Read on to hear the story of BJ Sebastian’s lamb dish.

Hawkes Bay Lamb loin, lamb belly and potato roulade, piko piko, lamb sweetbread, elderberry, burnt zucchini, pickled green walnut, lamb garum.

“I wanted to challenge myself with this dish to see how many cuts of lamb offal I could use and how they could all work together using different techniques. I wanted to incorporate the Japanese flavours of umami as I think it goes well with lamb. There is a lot going on with this dish so it was about achieving a balance and a fusion of Japanese flavours with New Zealand ingredients.

The Hawke’s Bay lamb loins are marinated in a Mudbrick red and port wine with juniper for an hour, then finished in the pan with juniper oil and butter. The wine and berry notes are designed to explode on the palate when you taste the loin. The technique of the lamb belly and potato roll is next level with the pulled belly rolled inside a potato sheet.

Foraged piko piko gives an asparagus-like flavour that is unique to any other ingredient that I have tried worldwide. Elderberry gives a bright, fruity, tart flavour which is contrasted by the earthy flavour of Lion's Mane mushrooms.

I wanted to feature sweetbreads which I coated with activated charcoal breadcrumbs and deep-fried. Burnt zucchini purée gives a rich smoky note and the lamb heart bottarga adds a savoury taste. Pickled green walnuts give a citric balance and the 50-day fermented lamb garum gives the umami punch which brings the whole dish together and a ‘snow’ is created from the lamb fat.”