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Lamb and couscous salad

Sun, 5 January, 2025

⯆ JUMP TO RECIPE
Crispy and savoury minced lamb, couscous sweetened with dried apricots and salad leaves bejewelled with pomegranate seeds: this salad is a complete winner!

lamb and couscous salad cuisinefiend.com

Hairy Bikers legacy recipe

The length of the ingredients’ list might seem daunting, but it is my unwavering conviction that the number of ingredients does not correspond to the difficulty level. Plus, in Middle Eastern cuisine the deliciousness of the dishes is greatly owing to the complexity of seasoning.

And this is very much a Middle Eastern recipe even though the authors, Hairy Bikers, were English through and through. There is lamentably only one Biker riding, as Dave Myers fell to cancer early in 2024. The lamb and couscous recipe is one of their last created together.

It’s amazingly tasty, and however nice the separate elements (the lamb, the couscous) are, it really should be prepared as written. The spicy lamb complements the fragrant couscous and the salad with its pomegranate dressing creates the perfect canvas.

middle eastern lamb and couscous salad cuisinefiend.com

How to prepare the salad base

Red onion, cucumber, mixed leaves and herbs are like a pared down Greek salad base.

The red onion is sliced thinly and soaked in cold salty water to lose the bite, and it will be used to garnish the salad. The cucumbers, best if you can get the baby (aka Persian) ones, are halved lengthwise and seeds scraped out.

And the pomegranate seeds do much more than just look pretty like ruby jewels on top of the salad.

The dressing is simple but effective: olive oil and lemon juice, sweetened with pomegranate molasses and a little honey. You can whisk it in a bowl or place the ingredients in a jar and shake energetically.

pomegranate cuisinefiend.com

How to make apricot couscous

Here couscous is flavoured with a pinch of saffron, some dried mint and chopped dried apricots. The latter, unless very soft and jammy, will benefit from soaking on their own in some boiling water for a few minutes.

Then the couscous and remaining water amount can be added, covered with cling film in the bowl and left to absorb the liquid – which is all couscous needs to be ready to eat.

minced lamb and couscous cuisinefiend.com

How to make spicy lamb

This recipe is reasonably frugal, as it calls to use minced lamb.

The lamb is browned in a frying pan until almost crispy. If it’s very fatty and the fat pools in the pan, drain it carefully away. Then the gorgeous seasoning combination is stirred in, with garlic, cinnamon, herbs, tomato paste and harissa.

It is not especially hot, unless you pick extra spicy harissa, but it’s fragrant and, as Sy and Dave said, intensely savoury.

salad with crispy lamb cuisinefiend.com

Assembling the salad

Some of the salad base goes at the bottom of a platter, followed by the couscous and remaining leaves and cucumbers. Half the dressing is used to drizzle it.

The lamb comes next, and the red onions, drained and patted dry with paper towels. The pomegranate seeds and grapes are the crowning glory, with the remaining dressing splashed over.

And I believe it should be served when the lamb and couscous are still warm – otherwise the lamb might become a little greasy when cold.

hairy bikers lamb and couscous cuisinefiend.com

More Middle Eastern recipes

Baba ganoush, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dish, is a wonderfully smoky, creamy and smooth dip made with whipped flesh of charred whole aubergine. Aubergine can be roasted in the oven, then skinned and creamed with lemon, tahini and olive oil.

Bulgur wheat pilaf with red peppers and raisins: cooked like rice pilaf but refreshingly different, looks like couscous but it’s more nutritious, whole grain of cereal but not slimy like barley. That’s my perfect grain!

Salmon shakshuka: spicy tomato and pepper base with chunks of fresh salmon poached in the sauce. Swap the eggs for salmon and serve shakshuka for dinner!

More minced lamb recipes

Greek style lamb koftas served with a simple harissa dip. Lamb koftas are perfect for a barbecue and just as tasty griddled, with this easy recipe.

Baked yellow courgettes stuffed with minced lamb and tomatoes, topped with grated cheese. Large yellow courgettes are perfect for baking, and much easier to fill with stuffing than the green ones.

Homemade lamb doner kebab from Tom Kerridge is made in the oven, served in a tortilla wrap and devoured in seconds. Who said you can’t make street food at home?

crispy minced lamb and couscous salad cuisinefiend.com



Lamb and couscous salad

Servings: 4Time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

  • For the salad:
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 medium or 3 mini cucumbers
  • 100 g (3 oz) mixed salad leaves
  • a small bunch of mint
  • a small bunch of parsley
  • ½ pomegranate
  • sea salt
  • 100 g (3 oz.) grapes (optional)
  • For the dressing:
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 1 tsp honey
  • For the couscous:
  • 6 dried apricots
  • a pinch of saffron (optional)
  • 50 ml (3 tbsp) freshly boiled water
  • 100 g (1 cup) couscous
  • ½ tsp dried mint
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 125 ml (½ cup) boiling water
  • For the lamb:
  • 250 g (9 oz.) minced lamb
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp dried mint
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tbsp harissa paste
  • salt and black pepper


METHOD

1. Peel and finely slice the onion. Place it in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Leave for 30 minutes.

red onions cuisinefiend.com

2. Wash the cucumbers and slice lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds with a spoon, then slice into crescents. Set aside. Wash and spin the salad leaves, pick the mint leaves and finely chop the parsley. Shake or pick out the pomegranate seeds, wash and halve the grapes, if using. To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients until emulsified.

preparing cucumbers cuisinefiend.com

3. Finely chop the apricots and place in a large bowl with the saffron. Pour over the 50 ml/3 tbsp hot water and leave to absorb. Add the couscous to the bowl with the dried mint, lemon zest, olive oil and pour over the 125 ml/½ cup boiling water. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside.

preparing couscous cuisinefiend.com

4. Place a frying pan on high heat and add the lamb. Cook breaking up and stirring with a fork until well browned. Peel and press in the garlic and cook for another minute. Add all the herbs and spices and cook for another minute, then season with salt and pepper, to taste. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes until the lamb is very dark, crisp in places and smells very savoury.

cooking lamb cuisinefiend.com

5. To assemble the salad, arrange half the mixed leaves on a platter. Uncover the couscous, fluff it up with a fork and scatter over the leaves. Add the remaining leaves, the cucumber and drizzle with half the dressing. Sprinkle over the lamb. Drain the red onions and add to the salad with mint and parsley, pomegranate seeds and grapes.

assembling salad cuisinefiend.com

6. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and serve.


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Hello! I'm Anna Gaze, the Cuisine Fiend. Welcome to my recipe collection.

I have lots of recipes for you to choose from: healthy or indulgent, easy or more challenging, quick or involved - but always tasty.


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