Harissa Lamb with Chickpea and Pomegranate Salad

Harissa Lamb with Chickpea, Spinach and Pomegranate Salad

5 from 1 vote

Harissa Lamb with Chickpea and Pomegranate Salad

A deliciously simple dinner that is perfect for warmer evenings. Inspired by North African flavours, this easy peasy Harissa Lamb with Chickpea and Pomegranate Salad recipe is ideal for a quick midweek supper, yet delicious enough to make for a weekend treat. It can be cooked indoors on a griddle pan or outdoors on the barbecue – perfect for our impossible-to-judge British weather – it also happens to be dairy and gluten free and pretty healthy too!

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine Fusion, Middle Eastern, North African

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 5

Total Time 25

Servings people

Calories 362kcal

Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

Harissa Lamb

2 tablespoons harissa paste (I used one from Tesco Ingredients), or to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper
4 boneless lamb leg steaks roughly 150g / 5¼oz each

Chickpea and Pomegranate Salad

½ red onion diced
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon salt
200 g cherry tomatoes quartered
1 small cucumber diced
400 g tin chickpeas drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
Black pepper
Seeds of 1 small pomegranate or 2 x 80g / 3oz pots pomegranate seeds
200 g baby spinach
Brown or white pittas to serve (optional)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Start by making the marinade for the lamb. Mix together the harissa paste, olive oil, lemon juice plus a little salt and pepper, and then add the lamb steaks. Try to marinate the lamb for at least 10 minutes – if you can do this an hour or two ahead of time, that would be even better.
To make the salad, place the diced red onions, salt, and lemon juice in a bowl and mix thoroughly. This will help soften the onions and make the flavour less harsh. The onions will also flavour the dressing beautifully. Add the quartered cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, drained chickpeas and olive oil, along with a few twists of black pepper and half the pomegranate seeds and stir everything together. Set aside, while you cook the lamb to allow the flavours of the salad to develop.
Heat up your griddle pan over a high heat for 1 minute. (Use a non stick frying pan if you don't have a griddle pan.) There is no need to put any oil in the pan.
Remove the lamb from the marinade and place in the griddle pan. Cook for 2 minutes. Turn over using tongs and cook for a further 2 minutes. This should result in perfectly pink meat inside – if you want it well done, do it for 3 minutes each side... Or for rare, 1 minute each side.
When it has finished cooking, remove your lamb steaks from the griddle pan and place them on a board. Allow to rest for 10 minutes, then chop them into bite-sized cubes.
To arrange your salad, divide the spinach up among 4 plates or large bowls. Put a quarter of the chickpea salad on top of each portion of spinach. Arrange the lamb cubes on top and, finally, scatter with the reserved pomegranate seeds. Drizzle over any remaining dressing from the bottom of the salad bowl.
Alternatively, put the spinach, lamb, chickpea salad and pomegranate seeds on the table and allow everyone to make up their own salad.

Notes

Not suitable for freezing (except the lamb on its own IS suitable for freezing).
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition