Darina Coffey's key ingredient recipe from Heat 3 of MasterChef 2014
Ingredients
- 1 rack of lamb
- 1 pomegranate
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 0.25 tsp sumac
- 150 ml lamb stock
- 2 tblsp tahini
- 1 white aubergine
- 1 aubergine
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 80 g cous cous
- 1 egg
- pinch coriander
- handful dried apricots
- 1tbsp pistachios
- 1tbsp chick peas
- 30 g feta cheese
- 1tsp rosewater
- 1 shallot
- butter
- 1tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1stp caster sugar
- honey
Method
- Place spices in pestle + mortar + grind for 1 minute
- Coat lamb with cinnamon, allspice, fennel seeds + sumac
- Sear lamb on fat side over medium high heat for 3-5 minutes
- Turn the meat to color the other side (1 minute)
- Soak cous cous in boiling water, drain, add to a pan with a knob of butter, oil, shallot + chickpeas
- Add lemon zest
- Cook for 1-3 minutes
- Add to a cook ring and place in the oven at 180° for 15 minutes
- Add lamb to oven at 180°- cook for 14-16 minutes until 60°F internal temperature
- Reduce, remove and rest
- Soak apricots in honey and water and caramelise for 2-3 minutes in a pan over a medium heat
- In a griddle pan , sear the aubergine until ?? 10 minutes over medium high and finish with blowtorch to ??, 1-2 minutes
- Place aubergines in a food processor with tahini, 1 garlic clove + Olive oil + blend for 1 minute
- Deseed the pomegranate and place in a sieve over a jug to extract juice
- Add to pan with 1 tsp pmegranite seeds, add rosewater, 1 tsp honey, lmab stock, white wine vinegar and caster sugar
- Reduce to a syrup, medium high heat for 5-8 minutes
- To Plate:
- Slice lamb
- Place cous cous cake on the plate + rest lamb against it
- Place baba ganoush (aubergine puree) on the plate, chop some pistachios + add
- Place apricots on the plate + drizzle pomegranate syrup around
- Scatter freshly chopped coriander
