Marinaded Lamb with Baba Ganoush, Giant Jewelled Couscous with Dill Dressing, and Roasted Vegetables with Feta & Pine Nuts
For a special roast, why not try my recipe for this summery dish. I love any meal which involves lots of different dishes for everyone to dig in to. The flavours and textures here work really well together and the best part is, each component part can be made ahead which makes for easy entertaining when feeding a crowd. I used a mixture of rack of lamb and lamb leg steaks which were marinaded in plenty of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and various spices overnight (would be delicious on the bbq). The baba ganoush was smokey and moreish, drizzled with pomegranate molasses and topped with chopped walnuts and dill. The roasted tomatoes, peppers and red onions added a lovely sweetness, drizzled with all the lovely tomato juices and topped with salty feta and crunchy pine nuts and finally the giant couscous salad had some fried courgettes for colour and plenty of dried fruit, nuts, and a zingy lemon herb dill dressing. Just delicious.
(Serves 6 - £4.69 per portion)
For the lamb, add 4 roughly chopped garlic cloves, a thumb sized piece of ginger, the juice and zest of a lemon, 1 green chilli, a handful of mint, parsley and coriander, 3 tbsps of olive oil, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses, 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar to a small food processor. Next add 1 tsp each of cumin, ground coriander, zaa’tar and sumac. Pour the marinade over the lamb, massaging all the flavours into the meat before covering with clingfilm and refrigerating overnight.
For the baba ganoush, cut two large aubergines in half, lightly scoring the flesh. Drizzle with olive oil, season and roast at 200C fan/220C for 45-40 minutes until the flesh is soft and slightly charred. Allow to cool before scraping out the soft flesh and adding to a large food processor with 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, the juice of a lemon, 3 tbsp tahini, 3 crushed garlic cloves, and plenty of salt and pepper. Whizz together until smooth before pouring in a bowl and drizzling over some pomegranate molasses and extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkling over some roughly chopped toasted walnuts and dill sprigs.
For the roasted veg, roughly chop 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper and an orange pepper into chunks and add to a parchment lined baking tray with 2 large red onions cut into wedges. Drizzle with olive oil and plenty of seasoning before roasting at 180C fan/200C for 40-45 minutes until slightly charred.
For the tomatoes, add 450g of cherry tomatoes to a parchment lined baking tray with their vines. Add a good drizzle of olive oil and 2 finely sliced garlic cloves. Add 4 large strips of lemon peel, 1 tsp of crushed coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp nigella seeds and 1 tsp fennel seeds. Sprinkle over 1/2 tbsp of light brown sugar and some seasoning before roasting in the oven underneath the peppers and onions. You want the tomatoes to be slightly charred but not completely mushy.
Put the roasted vegetables on a large serving platter and top with the tomatoes. Crumble over 75g feta cheese, a handful of toasted pine nuts and some chopped parsley or dill.
For the jewelled couscous salad, rinse 300g of giant couscous well under cold water. Put in a large saucepan with 500ml of chicken stock and simmer with a lid on until cooked through. Drain and return to the pan to steam.
Slice a couple of courgettes in thin slices and panfry in a little olive oil and seasoning until browned on both sides. Add to the couscous along with a handful of chopped apricots, a handful of soaked raisins, 100g of toasted flaked almonds and some chopped parsley. Add a bunch of dill to a small food processor along with with 50ml of olive oil, the juice of a lemon and some seasoning. Blend until it reaches a drizzling consistency and pour over the couscous and stir well.
When all the elements and dishes are ready, panfry the lamb rack and leg steaks in a hot frying pan until charred on both sides, discarding the excess marinade. For the rack of lamb, place in the oven for 8-10 minutes at 180C fan/200C. Leave to rest for at least 5 mins covered in foil before carving.
Serve each dish on large platters/dishes in the centre of the table for everyone to tuck in to. Enjoy!
