Niamh Shields burst onto the blogging scene in 2007 and has since snapped up countless accolades for her food writing by The Times, The Telegraph and The Stylist, to name a few. Niamh is passionate about cooking, and when she's not travelling the world collecting culinary tips, she's at home concocting new and interesting meals for friends and family, including her foody fledgling niece. Here, Niamh shares all her know-how for delicious and easy home-cooking.
Healthy harissa & yogurt lamb kebabs with cous cous
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A little bit of spice and heat in our food does wonders for a blue mood brought on by dreary weather. Marinaded meats become super tender when allowed to sit and bathe for a bit, and a post work dinner becomes a much brighter prospect when you’ve done the (small amount) of work the night or morning before.
These spiced up harissa and yogurt lamb kebabs are healthy too as they are oven baked. Long marinade times lead to super tender meat and the harissa heat is soothed a notch by the creamy yogurt, with the tomato puree adding a little sweetness and fruitiness.
Harissa is a delicious North African spice paste. It is very easy to make, and I often do. The blends vary but the core of it is chilli heat with spices like coriander. It’s quite easy to source too, although if you do, do try and find the Le Phare du Cap Bon brand available in little yellow tins and tubes. It is the best that I have tried, and I always have some in my cupboard for speedy suppers. You can get it in ethnic food shops and also on specialist websites like The Good Fork.
I like to use lamb with this marinade although it would work really well with chicken or beef too, so use your personal preference. Diced lamb steak from the leg works well, I’ve used lamb neck here. A full flavoured often overlooked cut, it has little streaks of fat through which really boost the flavour. Do use your preferred cut though.
I like to serve these with a light couscous with cooling cucumber and mint, and some fruity red pepper. I dress it simply with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Make extra – leftovers make great lunch and the cooked meat is great in a pita sandwich the next day.
Note: Cheaper tomato purees can be bitter, if yours is a little bitter add a little sugar to the marinade and that should help. It’s easier to invest in a better puree though.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the kebabs:
1.2kg lamb neck or lamb steak from e.g. leg, cut into 1 inch dice
150ml natural yogurt
4 tbsp harissa
4 tbsp good tomato puree
wooden skewers, soaked in water for 20 minutes(so they don’t burn)
For the cous cous:
250g cous cous
1 cucumber, halved with the seeds scooped out with a teaspoon & finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
handful of torn fresh mint leaves
extra virgin olive oil
half a lemon
Method
- For the marinade, combine the yogurt, harissa and tomato puree and taste. It should be fine, but if your puree is bitter it may need some sugar – your cal.
- Coat the lamb in the marinade thoroughly and store covered in the fridge for at least two hours, the longer the better.
- When you are ready to eat, preheat your oven to 180 deg C.
- Prepare the cous cous by just covering in a bowl with boiling water and covering the bowl with a plate or cling film.
- After 10 minutes, the cous cous should have absorbed the water. Fluff up with a fork and add the cucumber, pepper and mint. Season, dress with the olive oil and lemon to taste and leave to the side.
- Thread the lamb onto the skewers and place on an oven tray. Roast for 25 – 30 minutes until the lamb is cooked, turning half way through. Heat any leftover marinade I the oven for the last 5 minutes.
- Serve the lamb on top of the cous cous, with the leftover marinade as a sauce on the side.
Enjoy!
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