LAMB FATTOUSH
January 20, 2012 in meat, Salad
It’s a bit of a struggle to shrug off the holiday mode and get back into normal routine – and this includes blogging as well as getting into grip with the “new” platform where one has lost one’s subscribers – I look at the amazing pictures posted by fellow bloggers and despair as to whether I will ever get anywhere near that level of expertise – ah well –I will continue to plod along and give it a shot.
During this holiday season I had cooked and baked many of fellow bloggers recipes that I had saved to impress and wow my family and friends and also tried some new
recipes including this lamb fattoush which I had adapted from the BBC food
network by Simon Ritter.
I love the way the word fattoush rolls off ones tongue – fattoush is a Lebanese salad. The salad dressing uses an ingredient, sumac, a ground red berry, which adds quite a zing to the flavour.
SUMAC
This salad is crisp, crunchy especially with the toasted pita and has an unsual flavour of the sumac – delicious and healthy. I have also tried this salad without the lamb – I have to admit the flavour of the lamb makes this a more special dish.
LAMB FATTOUSH
Serves: 4
LAMB MINCE
2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
250 gr lamb mince
½ onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp ground cinnamon
FOR THE SALAD
Cos lettuce (shredded)
¼ green pepper cubed (½ cup)
¼ red pepper (½ cup)
¼ yellow pepper (½ cup)
1 Israeli cucumber, quartered and diced (I used ½
English cucumber)
¼ cup carrot, grated
2 radish, chopped
½ cup parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup red onion, diced
¼ cup white onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
½ cup baby red cabbage, finely shredded
¼ cup baby cabbage, finely shredded
¼ cup fresh mint, finely shredded
1 toasted pita bread, tear into small bite size
pieces
Dressing
100ml olive oil
1 ½ lemons, juice and zest
1/2 garlic clove, crushed
20gr ground sumac
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation method
- For the lamb, heat one tablespoon of the
vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the mince for 4-5 minutes, or until
browned all over. Remove the mince from the pan and set aside. - In the same pan, add the remaining vegetable oil
and fry the onion and garlic until softened. Return the lamb back to the
frying pan, add the cinnamon, season with salt and freshly ground black
pepper and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring regularly. - For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients
together in a bowl until well combined. - For the salad, place the salad ingredients into a
large bowl and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Pour over the salad dressing and mix until well combined. - Serve the salad on a large serving plate or bowl
and spoon the lamb on top.
janicetripepi said on January 20, 2012
Ohh Mitzi this dish looks devine – so crunchy and spicy I could imagine this in a roti for lunch and your pic is great! Keep going girlfriend xx
mitzireddy said on January 23, 2012
Thanks, Jan – appreciate the encouragement.
Max said on January 20, 2012
Lovely!
mitzireddy said on March 21, 2012
Its a delayed response – but thanks, Max – have been enjoying reading your posts.
Sous Chef said on January 20, 2012
Was the lamb warm or cold when you put it on the salad? All I can say about photographs is take plenty and don’t get too close. I use an on-line program called picknik, go there and play, you can crop, lighten and do all sorts to help your pics.
Sous Chef said on January 20, 2012
Was the lamb warm or cold when you put it on the salad? All I can say about photographs is take plenty and don’t get too close. I use an on-line program called picnik, go there and play, you can crop, lighten and do all sorts to help your pics.
mitzireddy said on January 23, 2012
the lamb was warm when I put it on the salad – the salad was eaten cold – it was delicious even the next day. Its because only a small quantity of lamb is used in the recipe. Worth trying, Sue.
Sous Chef said on January 20, 2012
Sorry, I realised I’d spelt it wrong and tried to alter it before it went…didn’t work!
mitzireddy said on January 23, 2012
You are always so helpful, Sue – thanks for the tip – will most certainly use it. Blondie has given me the correct spelling. You are a honey.
Blondie said on January 23, 2012
Wow, Mitzi! That looks delicious and perfect for these hot summer days!
Sue’s advice to use piknik is worth following – she gave me the same tip (and countless others, for which I’m SO grateful)!
If your camera has a macro setting, try using that (and make sure your flash is off) – 2 more of Sue’s tried-and-tested-tips that have worked for me!
mitzireddy said on January 23, 2012
Hi Blondie – thanks for the pointers – will put them to use – you share the same generous spirit as Sue. Appreciate the encouragement.
browniegirl said on January 23, 2012
Love lamb fattoush! I love the sourish lemony taste of sumac. Use it quite a bit these days. You should consider attending the food and wine blogger indaba this year Mitzi, it helps so many with their writing and styling and photography xxx
mitzireddy said on March 21, 2012
sumac has a unique flavour – would love to attend the next food and wine blogger indaba.
browniegirl said on January 23, 2012
I just saw the comments above from Sue and Blondie about your photos. Your photos are not bad at all. Editing will certainly make them look loads better. Agree that picnik is awesome but it IS closing down soon but it does give an alternative I think….also yes, macro setting for getting in close and use natural light without flashes. I keep food for the next day to photograph it in the daylight. I also use the AV setting on my camera a lot with my food photos. I am NOT good at it…need to attend those workshops myself haha xx
mitzireddy said on March 21, 2012
Apologies for the late reply,Browniegirl – thanks for the photo hints and your kind words – its encouraging. Your pics and your food is awesome.
Lisa said on February 7, 2012
Good you not in England now at this cold time!!!
mitzireddy said on March 21, 2012
Apologies for the delay in responing, Lisa – my children were saying it was freezing in Feb – with snow and the works.
I have been out of touch recently with blogging – how are you keeping.
PinkPolkaDot said on March 26, 2012
This also sounds delicious, Mitzi! I see you also stopped blogging for a while? I did not blog for 3 months and I have so much reading to catch up on!
mitzireddy said on March 28, 2012
I also took a break from blogging for nearly 3 months – its good to see posts from one of my favourite blogger again. Enjoy your day, Pink.
find out here said on April 17, 2012
I don’t even know how I stopped up right here, but I believed this post was great. I do not realize who you might be but certainly you’re going to a famous blogger should you aren’t already. Cheers!