İskender — Lamb Sirloin over Buttered Bread & Yogurt

Ingredients

• 1 lb Lamb Sirloin, sliced very thin against the grain
• 2 pide or pita breads, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1½ cups thick tomato passata
• 1 cup strained yogurt, at room temperature
• 5 tbsp butter, divided
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• ½ tsp cumin
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 green chilies and 2 tomatoes, for the plate
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Toss the Lamb Sirloin with the olive oil, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper and leave 15 minutes. Meanwhile toast the torn bread in a dry pan until the edges are crisp but the centers still give.
2. Simmer the passata with 1 tbsp butter, the paprika, and a pinch of salt for 10 minutes until it thickens and turns a deeper red. Keep it hot.
3. Sear the Lamb Sirloin in a screaming-hot pan in two batches — crowding steams it grey. Each batch takes about 2 minutes total; you want browned edges and juicy centers.
4. Blister the whole chilies and tomatoes in the same pan while it's hot, then set aside.
5. Layer bread, then sauce, then Lamb Sirloin on two plates. Spoon cold yogurt alongside. Melt the remaining 4 tbsp butter until it foams and just begins to smell nutty, then pour it hissing over each plate at the table. That sound is the whole dish.