Life All Travel Destinations Entertaining Food All Chefs Recipes Restaurants Wine Matching Wine All Wine 101 Wine News Wine Regions Wine Varietals Home > Selector Magazine > Food > Middle Eastern lamb Food Middle Eastern lamb Preparation time 10 minutes Cooking time 40 minutes Serves 4 INGREDIENTS 2 lamb round or rump roasts (approx. 350–400g each) 2 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp mild Spanish paprika 1 tsp ground ginger ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper Eggplant purée 1 large eggplant, halved and flesh scored 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled Cous cous 1 cup (200g) instant cous cous 1 cup (250ml) beef stock 2 tbsp fresh chopped herbs, e.g. parsley, coriander 2 tbsp finely chopped preserved lemon or zest of 1 large lemon 2 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted Salt and freshly ground black pepper To serve Steamed green beans Micro herbs METHOD Combine spices and black pepper and rub all over the lamb and leave to marinate for 15 minutes or until oven has pre-heated. Put eggplant in the cold oven, drizzled with 1 tablespoon olive oil and garlic. Pre-heat oven to 220ºC. Sprinkle lamb with one tablespoon olive oil and salt and place in the hot oven, reducing temperature immediately to 200ºC. Cook for 20–25 minutes for rare, 30 minutes or so for well done. Remove garlic and eggplant when it is soft and collapsed. When lamb is cooked as desired, remove from oven. Cover with foil and leave to rest in a warm place for 10 minutes. Scoop flesh out of the eggplant as soon as it is cool enough to handle and puree with peeled garlic, salt, pepper and remaining olive oil. Meanwhile, pour hot beef stock over cous cous, cover with a clean cloth and leave 5 minutes to swell. Fork over until fluffy. Add herbs, preserved lemon or lemon zest, nuts, salt and pepper. To serve, place a mound of cous cous on four serving plates. Slice lamb and spoon any juices over. Top with eggplant purée, garnish with micro herbs and serve with green beans. Lyndey’s note: lamb mini-roasts vary in size from 100g to 400g. Allow 180–200g per person and adjust cooking time for size. Food Preparation time 10 minutes Cooking time 40 minutes Serves 4 SHARE