Roast loin of lamb with chermoula and pearl couscous salad

Serves 6

You will need:

• 2 loins of lamb, boned so that you can roll and tie them with cotton string later

For the chermoula, you will need:

• 4 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh coriander, including the small stalks

• 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

• 3 teaspoons ground cumin

• 3 teaspoons paprika

• 1 medium-hot red chilli, seeded and chopped

• 1 scant teaspoon saffron strands

• 100ml extra-virgin olive oil

• Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

For the pearl couscous salad, you will need:

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 200g pearl couscous

• 450ml chicken stock or vegetable stock

• 75g dried cranberries

• 100g pine nuts or cashew nuts, toasted

• 75g finely chopped red onion

• 50g spring onions, green and white parts thinly sliced at an angle

• Zest of 1 lemon

• Freshly squeezed juice of ½ a lemon

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• A small handful of coriander leaves

To serve, you will need:

• Fresh coriander and mint leaves

• 250ml thick natural yoghurt

• 2 teaspoons sumac 1 You will also need some cotton string. First, prepare the loins of lamb. Place the lamb fat-side up, and score a criss-cross pattern into the fat of both loins. 2 Next, make the chermoula. Put the roughly-chopped fresh coriander into a food processor, along with the chopped garlic, the ground cumin, the paprika, the chopped chilli and the saffron strands. Blend for a few seconds, then add the extra-virgin olive oil, the lemon juice, and season with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. 3 Place the lamb loins fat-side down, and rub a couple of tablespoons of the chermoula all over each loin. Cut some cotton string. Roll each lamb loin, and tie it with the string at 4cm intervals, so that each loin stays nice and tight. Place the lamb loins on a roasting tray and rub the outside with some more of the chermoula — just enough to cling to the joints. Place the lamb loins in the fridge and allow them to marinate for an hour, or even overnight. 4 A couple of hours before cooking the meat, make the pearl couscous salad. 5 Heat two tablespoons of the extra-virgin olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the pearl couscous and stir for three minutes, until it is coated and toasted. Add the chicken stock or the vegetable stock, whichever you’re using, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, and continue to cook for about 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the couscous is just cooked. If there’s any stock left in the pot, drain the couscous, then toss in the remaining two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and allow the couscous to cool. 6 Once the couscous has cooled, add the dried cranberries, the toasted pine nuts or cashew nuts, whichever you’re using, the finely chopped red onions and the thinly sliced spring onions. Scatter the lemon zest over the top, and add the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Toss the salad, taste for seasoning, adding sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, then place the pearl couscous salad in a bowl and scatter over the coriander leaves. 7 Preheat the oven to 220°C, 425°F, Gas 7. Roast the marinated rolled loins of lamb for 40-50 minutes, depending on how you want the loins cooked. 8 When the lamb loins are cooked, remove them to a warm serving dish. Turn off the oven and allow the lamb to rest for 5-10 minutes before carving — this will allow the juices to redistribute evenly throughout the meat. 9 To serve, carve the lamb into slices and place on warm plates. Drizzle a bit more chermoula over the top and scatter over a few fresh coriander and mint leaves too, if you wish. Place a bowl of natural yoghurt on the table and scatter it with sumac. Serve the lamb with the pearl couscous salad and the yoghurt.