Lamb, chickpea, pomegranate and saffron salad G .......................
“This hearty salad has a lovely sour hit from the pomegranate, and floral notes from the saffron,” says Stone. “I like to use lamb rumps with the fat caps attached, because they’re juicy and have a great flavour.” The baharat spice makes double what you need, but can be halved. The saffron dressing makes four times what you need but can be quartered or refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week. Serves 4 (pictured p106)
400 gm (2 cups) dried chickpeas, soaked
in water overnight in refrigerator
4 red capsicums
4 (about 600gm) lamb rumps
2 large handfuls (about 1 cup) flat-leaf
parsley leaves
1 pomegranate, halved
Mint powder, to serve (optional; see note)
Saffron dressing
6 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
2 golden shallots, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 large red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp honey
60 ml (¼ cup) apple cider vinegar, ideally with a live “mother” (see note p109) Pinch of saffron threads
250 ml (1 cup) olive oil
Baharat
8 whole cloves
4 star anise
2 tbsp black peppercorns 1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds 20 gm ( 1/ cup) paprika
4
1 Drain the chickpeas, place in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to just under a simmer and cook the chickpeas until tender (about 45 minutes). Some white foam might rise to the top of the saucepan; skim and discard. If the chickpeas rise above the level of the water, top up with fresh water. Once cooked, drain the chickpeas and set aside.
2 For saffron dressing, combine thyme, shallot, garlic, chilli, honey, vinegar and saffron in a mixing bowl. Leave to marinate for about 30 minutes. The vinegar cures and mellows the ingredients. Whisk in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. This recipe makes about 320ml.
3 For baharat, place all the spices except the paprika in a dry frying pan over medium heat and toast for a few minutes until fragrant, tossing them often. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Once the pan is cool enough to touch, mix in the paprika. Grind what is now a heady-smelling mix into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Store in an airtight container or jar.
4 If you have a gas stove, turn the heat to high, hold the capsicum over the flame using tongs and turn every two minutes to burn them on all sides (8 minutes). They will cook and become tender. If you don’t have a gas stove, roast the capsicum in the oven at 180C (45-55 minutes). Once they’re nice and black, place them in a container and cover to steam off the skin and finish cooking. Once cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and remove the stalks and seeds. Slice the capsicum cheeks into 1cm-thick strips.
5 Place a large frying pan over medium heat. Coat lamb with 2 tbsp baharat and ½-1 tbsp salt. Once the pan is hot, place the lamb in, fat-side down. Cook for about 8 minutes to render the fat and caramelise. Once golden, turn and cook for another 8 minutes. I like the lamb to be cooked to medium. Turn off the heat and leave to rest.
6 Place the chickpeas, capsicum and parsley in a salad bowl. Bash the pomegranate halves with a wooden spoon over the salad bowl, cut-side down, to release the seeds and juice. Dress generously with saffron dressing.
7 To serve, carve the lamb rumps into 2cm-thick slices and serve with the salad on a large platter. Sprinkle with mint powder, and eat immediately. Note To make mint powder, dry mint leaves in an oven at 45C or lowest setting until dry (6 hours), then grind to a fine powder; 1 cup (firmly packed) mint leaves makes 1 tbsp powder.
“A simple single-pan dish, this is my go-to meal when I get home late and need a filling dinner quickly.”