Tag Archives: middle eastern flavours

This time last year I was in Dubai on a media trip (one part of my job that definitely does not suck).

So following on from the Rosewater, Cardamon and Pistachio Bundt Cake I made last week, here is another recipe inspired by my time there. I love the sweet and tart berry flavours of pomegranates but in Australia they’re considered quite exotic. In Dubai pomegranates were so readily available one could buy freshly squeezed pomegranate juice at street food stalls, which I did.

Here are some pomegranates I photographed at the Dubai fruit and vegetable market.

Aren’t they gorgeous?

So when I spotted some pomegranates on sale this week I decided to make a dish I’ve been meaning to make for a while: Lamb with Pomegranates, Mint and Broad Beans on a Bed of Couscous.

One of my old Nigella Lawson cookbooks contains a recipe for shredded lamb with pomegranate and mint. Taking this intriguing combination as a starting point, I added some fresh broad beans, pine nuts and couscous to make a colourful, one-dish meal.

Broad beans are wonderful just now, and they lend such a lovely texture and flavour to this dish. If you’ve never cooked fresh broad beans before, it’s really simple. You just shell the broad beans, place them in boiling water for 3 minutes, refresh them in cold water and then slip the skins off the individual beans.

With striking red and green tones this dish looks so cheerful and festive. Actually, Christmas is only eight weeks away. Yikes! How on earth did that happen?

Lamb with Pomegranate, Mint and Broad Beans on a Bed of Couscous

INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg lamb (I used a 1/2 leg with bone in)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 kg fresh broad beans (unshelled)
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup couscous
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 pomegranate
• 30 grams toasted pine nuts
• 6-8 sprigs mint, leaves picked
• 1 tablespoon garlic infused extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Juice of 1 lemon

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with tinfoil.
2. Rub washed and dried lamb with olive oil and then rub in salt and pepper.
3. Roast leg until medium or well-done, depending on preferences. For medium roast for around 1 hour (30 minutes per 500 grams). For well done roast for around 1 hour 10 minutes (35 minutes per 500 grams).
4. Whilst lamb is cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a small saucepan of water (3 cups) to the boil. While this is happening shell the beans and then place them in the boiling water for three minutes.
5. Drain the beans from the boiling water and then refresh them with cold water. Gently remove the skins from the individual beans and set the beans aside.
6. Make the couscous by boiling 1 cup water with 1 tablespoon oil and 2 teaspoons salt in a small saucepan. Once boiling, turn off the heat and drop 1 cup couscous in. Cover and let sit for two minutes. Turn heat back onto low and add one tablespoon butter. Cook, stirring constantly with a fork, for 3 minutes. Once done, set aside to cool.
7. Once lamb is done, remove from over, cover with tinfoil and leave to sit for 10 minutes. Then cut or shred lamb into small pieces, put it in a covered, oven-proof container and keep warm.
8. To make dressing whisk garlic oil with lemon juice.
9. To assemble, on a large plate or platter spread a layer of couscous. Top with lamb (lamb should be warm so reheat if necessary), broad beans and pomegranate seeds (arils) and garnish with pine nuts and mint. Sprinkle over dressing and then toss to combine at the table.

Recipes with Lamb, Pomegranate or Broad Beans

• Blood Orange and Pomegranate Salad
• Broad Beans with Bacon and Onion
• Addictive Mouth Numbing Xinjiang Lamb Skewers

Recipes Inspired by Dubai

• Bruschetta with Quail Egg and Truffle Paste
• Rosewater, Cardamon and Pistachio Bundt Cake

Dubai posts

• Exploring Dubai: Spice Souk, Gold Souk and the Fruit & Vegetable Market
• High Tea at Raffles Dubai and The Pavillion Downtown Dubai
• Dinner Under the Stars: Dubai Desert Safari
• Dubai by Instagram

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My dear friend Eli once cooked me a delicious rice salad when we were both living in London in the early 2000s.

As an Australian-born Chinese, I’ve eaten a lot of rice. I’ve had it steamed, fried, and boiled until it collapsed into a congee (jook jook). I’ve had a glutinous dough form of it wrapped around sweet bean pastes and rolled in shredded coconut and sesame seeds. I’ve had it infused with coconut milk (nasi lemak) and cooked in Chicken stock (Hainanese chicken rice).

But I’d never eaten rice cold in a salad before. The thought had never even crossed my mind as the only rice salads I’d come across had looked drab and unappetising – they seemed like afterthoughts rather than the main event.

So Eli’s rice salad with nuts, seeds and fruits was a revelation.

I was reminded of her salad at the recent lunch to celebrate the Spencer Gulf Prawn Fisherman’s MSC certification. As one of the sides to the spectacular barbecued Spencer Gulf King Prawns, we were served a lovely saffron rice with orange zest, cranberries, sunflowers seeds, parsley and chives.

So today when I was thinking about sides to accompany some barbecued hoison pork strips and lamb sausages, I immediately thought of making a rice salad.

I wanted my rice to be similarly golden-hued but used turmeric instead of saffron, bumping up the Middle Eastern flavours with cumin and coriander. I then sprinkled over fresh herbs, seeds, nuts, dried fruit and diced vine-ripened tomatoes on top, finishing it off with a tangy lemony dressing.

My rice salad was lovely to look at – the brilliant colours make me feel instantly perkier – and it was wonderfully tasty, too. As I ate I took in the different flavours and textures of the ingredients – the tang of the vinegar and lemon, the sweetness of the sultanas and apricots, and the crunch of the pumpkin seeds and pine nuts.

So next time you’re wondering to make to serve with barbecued meat or seafood, take a walk on the wild side and make a rice salad.

Your taste buds will thank you.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of rice
Water
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
4 medium vine-ripened tomatoes
1/6 diced Spanish onion
30 grams pumpkin seeds
30 grams pine nuts
40 grams sultanas
50 grams diced apricot pieces
4 spring onions, finely diced
1 handful fresh herbs e.g. basil, parsley and mint
3 tablespoons garlic infused olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt & pepper

METHOD

Cook rice according to your usual method (I use my rice cooker) with your usual amount of water, adding turmeric, coriander and cumin to the cooking water. I figure out the quanity of water required by adding it until it reaches the first section of my pointer finger so I’m afraid I can’t be more specific about how much you’ll need in your rice cooker or saucepan.

Once the rice is cooked, leave it to cool, spreading it out in a wide dish to hasten the cooling process.

Dice tomatoes and then scatter over the rice, along with the onions, pumpkin seeds, sultanas, apricot pieces, spring onions, and fresh herbs.

Make a dressing by combining the garlic olive oil with the red wine vinegar, honey and lemon juice. Grind fresh pepper and add a teaspoon of salt flakes. Sprinkle over the rice and then mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning if required.

Serves 6.