Pan-fried lamb with salad greens and watercress dressing

Tamara West

Ingredients

8	Lamb fillets, any silver skin trimmed (Main)
1 Tbsp	Olive oil
2 heads	Witloof
2 heads	Baby cos lettuce
1	Egg yolk
2 Tbsp	Lemon juice
2 Tbsp	Cider vinegar
1 Tbsp	Dijon mustard
1 tsp	Tarragon, dried, or use 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh French tarragon
¾ cup	Extra virgin olive oil
1 cup	Watercress, very finely chopped leaves (Main)

Directions

1. Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Rub lamb fillets with olive oil and grind over black pepper.
2. Place lamb fillets in frying pan and cook for 4-5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate, season with salt and cover loosely with foil. Leave to rest while you make the salad.
3. Separate the witlof and cos leaves, wash and pat dry. Tear any larger cos leaves into smaller pieces. Toss leaves together in a large bowl.
4. Place egg yolk, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard and tarragon in the bowl of a small food processor (or use a stick blender), and process for 30 seconds. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in extra virgin olive oil through the feed tube. Add the watercress and process for 30 seconds. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. This should be quite a thin dressing.
5. Toss the salad with just enough dressing to coat the leaves and place on a large platter. Slice the lamb fillets and scatter over and around salad. Serve remaining dressing in a small bowl alongside the salad. I also scatter over 2 handfuls of podded fresh green peas when in season.