Spicy lamb with tabbouleh

Serves 4

I have to admit that the main reason I go on holiday is to eat! I loved visiting Morocco and I had the best time visiting the markets, falling in love with the wonderful array of colours and smells of the spices – cumin, saffron, cinnamon, coriander, the spice mix ras el hanout; the fiery taste of harissa, preserved lemons and the grains – cous cous, semolina and bulgar wheat. Thankfully all of these magical ingredients are now available in our ethnic food stores and many supermarkets.
I have used lamb for this recipe as it is the principal meat of Morocco.

4 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt

600g of leg of lamb, ask your butcher to trim and dice the meat
For the marinade:
2 tablespoons of harissa paste
A handful of flat leaf parsley
A handful of fresh mint
A handful of fresh coriander
3 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 lemon roughly chopped with pips removed
You will also need skewers (metal or wooden).

Place the marinade ingredients into a blender and blend into a thick paste. Mix in the the yoghurt. Place the lamb pieces into a large bowl and mix in the marinade ensuring the lamb is completely covered. Cover the bowl and place in a fridge overnight. The next day remove the lamb from the marinade and thread the meat onto the skewers (if using wooden skewers you will need to soak them for twenty minutes in cold water before use to stop the skewers burning). Heat a barbeque or griddle pan and cook the lamb for a couple of minutes on each side until lightly charred. Serve the lamb with tabbouleh (click under ‘recipes’), warm pitta bread, lemon wedges and Greek yoghurt.

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