Moroccan lamb with harissa-spiced couscous and chickpea salsa
Main. Difficulty: Medium. Serves 6. Time: 3 hours 40 minutes, plus 24 hours chilling.
🍳 Cook: 3 min
Ingredients
| 2 | lamb rump steaks, each weighing 240g | |
| 125 ml | white wine | |
| 75 ml | oil | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | coriander seeds |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | cumin seeds |
| 1 | pinch of saffron (marinade) | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | black peppercorns |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | juniper berries |
| 1 | orange, zested | |
| 1 | lemon, zested | |
| 1/2 tbsp | 7.5 ml | rosemary |
| 50 g | garlic | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | coriander stalks |
| 150 ml | olive oil (marinade) | |
| 15 | red chillies (harissa) | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | cayenne pepper |
| 7 | red peppers, deseeded and cut into quarters | |
| 160 g | tomato purée | |
| 1 | pinch of saffron (harissa) | |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 ml | ground coriander |
| 1/2 tbsp | 7.5 ml | salt (harissa) |
| — | olive oil (harissa) | |
| 160 g | couscous | |
| 120 ml | chicken stock | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | courgette, diced |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | coriander, chopped (couscous) |
| 120 ml | tomato juice | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | olive oil (couscous) |
| — | salt | |
| — | black pepper | |
| 240 g | cooked chickpeas, peeled | |
| 1 | lemon, juiced (salsa) | |
| 1 | pinch of sugar | |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | olive oil (salsa) |
| 1/2 | garlic clove, finely sliced | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | red chillies, finely diced (salsa) |
| 1 | bunch of coriander, finely sliced | |
| 500 g | cherry tomatoes on the vine | |
| 100 ml | extra virgin olive oil (confit tomatoes) |
Instructions
- Start by making the marinade. Roast the coriander and cumin seeds in a frying pan, being careful not to burn.
- Put all of the marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go (saffron, black peppercorns, juniper berries, orange zest, lemon zest, rosemary, garlic, coriander stalks, olive oil).
- Rub on enough of the paste to cover the lamb steaks, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 60°C/Gas pilot light.
- Next, make the tomato confit. In small batches, blanch the tomatoes in boiling salted water for 10 seconds and refresh in a bowl of iced water. Remove the skins and arrange evenly on a non-stick baking tray.
- Drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and put in the oven overnight, or until the tomatoes have reduced in volume by half.
- Allow to cool, then place in a sealed container in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Make the harissa by laying the pepper quarters skin-side up on a baking tray and lightly brushing with olive oil. Place under a hot grill until the skin has slightly blackened but is not burnt.
- Cover with cling film and leave for an hour. Peel off the pepper skins and discard.
- Place the peppers in a food processor with the rest of the harissa ingredients (red chillies, tomato purée, cayenne pepper, ground coriander, saffron, salt) and blend to a smooth paste.
- In a saucepan, bring the tomato juice and chicken stock to the boil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Place the cous cous in a large bowl and pour over the seasoned boiling stock. Quickly cover with cling film and leave to steam for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir the cous cous with a fork to separate the individual grains, then cover again and leave for a further 4 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. Fluff up the cous cous with a fork.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and lightly fry the courgette for 2-3 minutes until tender. Transfer to a plate to cool. Stir the courgette into the cous cous, along with the harissa and coriander. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Mix all of the chickpea salsa ingredients together in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper (cooked chickpeas, red chillies, garlic, coriander, lemon juice, olive oil, pinch of sugar).
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas mark 5 and scrape off the excess marinade from the lamb rumps.
- Heat the oil in an ovenproof frying pan and fry the lamb rump for 2-3 minutes on each side until the meat is evenly caramelised. Put into the oven and cook for 8-9 minutes (for medium rare), or until cooked to your liking, turning twice during cooking.
- Remove from the oven and rest on plates for 10 minutes. Slice thickly just before serving.
- Discard the excess oil and return the pan to the heat. Deglaze with white wine and cook over a high heat until the liquid has reduced to a sauce consistency.
- To serve, pile the cous cous onto plates and arrange the lamb slices on top. Spoon the chickpea salsa and confit tomatoes around and drizzle with the white wine sauce.
From http://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/moroccan-lamb-harissa-spiced-couscous