Have you tried harissa? Harissa is a Maghrebi hot chili pepper paste. The main ingredients of which are roasted red peppers, Baklouti pepper, serrano peppers and other hot chili peppers and spices and herbs such as garlic paste, coriander seed, saffron, rose or caraway as well as some vegetable or olive oil for preservation. I first picked up Josh & Sue’s Rose Harissa in July 2015 – and I have been a fan ever since. I think it is a great addition to have in your cupboard, as it takes something simple…like lamb chops and can take them to another level! 

The other night my Uncle popped around for dinner. He had mentioned that his freezer was filling up with all the meat trays that he had won at the local club and I pointed out that we would be more then happy to help him out by eating said winnings. All he needed to do was rock up to our weekly dinner a little earlier with the said defrosted lamb chops and I would be more then happy to whip them up into something delicious.

We laughed as he said it felt very ‘Masterchef’ bringing the main ingredient and seeing what I could turn it into.

We had already taken him on a few journeys to Greece – so I thought that I might mix it up a little and take him on a little journey to North Africa with this harissa.

HARISSA LAMB CHOPS

12 lamb chops
2 tbsps of harissa paste
zest of a lemon
1 tbsp of onion powder
1 tbsp of garlic powder
Olive oil

In a dish mix together the harissa, lemon zest, onion powder and garlic powder. Toss the lamb chops in the seasoning and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Whilst the lamb chops are marinating, heat some oil in a frying pan. Cook the lamb chops to medium by cooking for approximately 4 minutes on each side {or until they are cooked through to your liking}. Serve with the dipping sauce {recipe below}.

DIPPING SAUCE

1/2 cup of greek yoghurt
1 tbsp of harissa paste
1 tbsp of tahini
juice of a lemon
sea salt

Mix together the greek yoghurt with the harissa, tahini and lemon juice. Taste for seasoning and serve with the lamb chops.

SIMPLE TOMATO SALAD

2 punnets of baby heirloom tomatoes
1/2 red onion
1/2 bunch of mint
zest of a lemon
juice of a lemon
2 tbsps of olive oil
sea salt

Halve the tomatoes, thinly slice the red onion and tear off the mint leaves. Toss in a little lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and season to taste.

Have you ever whipped up a recipe from my blog? I would love for you to let me know…So I don’t feel as if I am just writing all this stuff down for nothing… If you choose to whip up one of my recipes , then I would love for you to share it on social media, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #goodfoodweek.