Pete Evans' Harissa lamb leg with roasted pumpkin, feta and pomegranate salad

December 1, 2008

I’ve been cooking from Pete Evans’ My Table cookbook this past week.

I was attracted to the Harissa lamb leg with roasted pumpkin, feta and pomegranate salad when I was reviewing the book and the display of shiny red pomegranates at the supermarket had me grabbing one and collecting some pumpkin and lamb ready for our meal.

Not much luck on the harissa paste side, I’m afraid. I’ve bought jars of it before but couldn’t find any at the supermarket. I ended up making my own but that was hardly a chore. I’ll give the recipe at the end.

I’ve had a bottle of pomegranate molasses sitting in the pantry for a while. It has a sharp tangy flavour and I like it as an ingredient for zesting up dishes and for glazing a ham.

The salad is very attractive and, with its bright green and red garnish, would make a lovely accompaniment for Christmas dinner – either a traditional turkey dinner or one centred on a barbecue.

Harissa lamb leg

1 lamb leg (2-3kg/4lb 8oz-6lb 12oz) bone in
4 tablespoons harissa paste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Bring the lamb leg to room temperature (and make sure you know how much it weighs), Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/Gas 4). Coat the lamb with the harissa paste, then with the olive oil.

Roast the lamb for 45 minutes, and then another 25 minutes per kilo of weight. Remove from the oven and leave to rest, loosely covered with foil, for at least 30 minutes. Slice and serve with salad.

Roasted pumpkin, feta and pomegranate salad

600g (1lb 5oz) pumpkin, unpeeled and chopped
1 small red onion, cut into wedges
a pinch of ground cumin
1 pinch of chilli flakes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 handful of mint leaves
120g (4oz) sheep’s milk feta (Persian is great)
2 tablespoons pine nuts, roasted
1-2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F/Gas 6). Put the pumpkin and onion in a roasting tin and toss with the cumin, chilli flakes and some sea salt and pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil and roast until golden. Toss with the mint, feta and pine nuts. Drizzle with the pomegranate molasses and pomegranate seeds before serving.

Harissa

2 fresh red peppers, grilled and skinned
25g hot red chilli pepper, or 15g dried hot red peppers
2 cloved garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
coarse salt
olive oil

Slice the hot red pepper thinly . If using dried red peppers, soak them in hot water for an hour and drain before use.

Grind the cumin and coriander seeds in a spice grinder or in a mortar.

Drain the skinned, rinsed fresh red peppers and place in a blender with the drained hot peppers and the remaining ingredients. Process until smooth and place in a sterilised jar. To keep, cover with a layer of oil and refrigerate.

Credits:
Lamb recipe ©Pete Evans
Photo ©Pat Churchill
Harissa recipe adapted from Robert Carrier’s Taste of Morocco.

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