
Grilled Lamb Fillet With Baba Ghanoush, Chickpeas and Pomegranate
A mouth-watering Syrian-inspired dish. Sumac is made from the berries which are dried and coarsely ground.
- Serves: 4-6 |
- Difficulty: easy
- Prep Time : 30 mins |
- Cook Time : 1:15 hours


Ingredients
Baba Ghanoush
2 medium aubergines (brinjals)
4 tsp (20 ml) olive oil
2 fat cloves garlic, crushed
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of smoked paprika (optional)
1 ½ tsp (7 ml) ground cumin
a grind of freshly milled black pepper
½ tsp (2.5 ml) seasoned salt
juice and zest of 1 lemon
¼ C (60 ml) Greek yoghurt
2 Tbsp (30 ml) tahini
2 Tbsp (30 ml) fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbsp (30 ml) fresh coriander leaves
Sumac Lamb Fillets
2 x 250 g lamb fillets (ask your butcher to prepare)
2 Tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
20 g sumac spice (find at any good spice shop)
Honey and Chilli-roasted Chickpeas
1 x 400 g can chickpeas, drained and well-rinsed
1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
3 Tbsp (45 ml) honey
1 tsp (5 ml) smoked chilli flakes
To Garnish
pomegranate rubies of 1 -2 pomegranates
4 pita breads, halved, cut into triangles and toasted with olive oil and salt in the oven
fresh coriander
Method
To make the baba ghanoush, pierce the aubergines well and bake whole at 220 °C for 1 hour or until charred and soft. Cool for 15 minutes. Peel and chop roughly. Place in a colander and press gently with a plate to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
Heat the oil and add the garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika and ground cumin. Cook for about 2 minutes on a gentle heat.
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Adjust the seasoning according to taste.
Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and coriander and drizzle with a little olive oil.
To prepare the lamb fillets, massage the oil onto the fillets, then coat generously with sumac.
Grill, braai or pan-fry over a moderate heat for about 2½–3 minutes a side for medium to medium rare. Remove from the heat, cover with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes before thinly slicing.
To make the chickpeas, first turn down the oven heat to 200 °C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas well. Spread out onto the baking tray. Drizzle with the oil and honey and sprinkle with the smoked chilli flakes.
Roast for about 20 minutes or until golden.
To serve, place the sliced lamb on a bed of baba ghanoush sprinkled with roasted chickpeas and pomegranate rubies. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with pita toasts.