Recipe courtesy of Eunice Power and Clonakilty Irish yoghurts
Ingredients
Lamb siniya is the exotic sister of shepherd's pie. I have made this version with sweet potato. Baharet spice is widely available in supermarkets, I first came across this dish in Honey and Co in London and was instantly smitten. Its a rich dish, I would serve a tomato and cucumber salad with a little fresh mint, olive oil and seasoned with some black pepper and maldon sea salt.
Dinner for 4-6 For The lamb:
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 Medium sweet potato , peeled and diced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
½ tsp salt
750g minced lamb
1 tsp coarsely ground fennel seeds
2 tbsp baharat spice mix
1 tbsp tomato purée
400g tin good quality chopped tomatoes
A handful of finely chopped parsley
For the topping
200g Irish Yogurt Clonakilty Greek style yogurt
200g tahini paste
2 eggs
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp salt
1–2 tbsp water (if needed)
2 tbsp roughly whole almonds with skin on
Method
1. Fry the onions on a medium heat in a large saucepan with the oil and salt until the onions start to go golden then add the minced lamb ,
2. increase the heat to high and use a wooden spoon to break the meat into little pieces.
3. When the lamb starts to brown, sprinkle on the ground fennel and baharat spice and cook for 3-4 minutes, stir in the diced sweet potato, followed by the tomato purée and continue to stir while cooking for a further 3 minutes,
4. then add the tinned tomatoes, rinse out the tomato tin with a little water about ⅓ of the tin , bring to a very bare simmer for about 60 minutes.
5. stirring occasionally until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick.
6. You may need to add a little more water as you go along.
7. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the parsley,
8. Transfer to an oven proof dish.
9. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4.
10. Mix all the topping ingredients together apart from the water and almonds.
11. If the mixture is very thick, stir in enough of the water to loosen slightly – the consistency should resemble thick yogurt.
12. Spread the topping over the lamb in the dish.
13. Sprinkle the chopped almonds all over and bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes or until the tahini looks set and slightly golden.
