Lorraine Pascale Inspired Lamb

Somehow I managed to become a 'food porn' addict over the weekend, after watching Jamie's 30 Minute Meals, Lorraine Pascale and Peter Kuruvita on Good Food. Having been struggling with a gluten and dairy free lunch dish for Sunday, I decided to put my memory to the test. Lorraine's recipe called for couscous and goat's cheese, but I substituted this for a cucumber and mint quinoa salad.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

for the meat -

- sunflower oil

- 4 lamb chops or similar

- mixed herbs

- salt and pepper

for the quinoa - 

- 250g mixed quinoa pack (I like the one from Waitrose)

- a handful of chopped fresh mint

- 1/3 cucumber, finely chopped

- rapeseed or olive oil (about 2-3 tbsp)

- juice of half a lemon

- salt and pepper

for the topping -

- a handful of flaked almonds

- 3 spring onions, chopped
- a drizzle of maple syrup

- pomegranate seeds from 1/2 a pomegranate

1. Start by chopping the vegetables and mint for the quinoa and put some boiling water on. Season the meat well with the herbs and salt and pepper. Place the quinoa into the boiling water for around 12 minutes until cooked, or according to the packet instructions. The meat should only take around 5-6 minutes, so half way through boiling the quinoa, put some vegetable/sunflower oil in a frying pan and cook the lamb (turning after a few minutes).

2. After the lamb is cooked, take each piece off to rest and use the pan to fry the spring onions, flaked almonds and maple syrup for a few minutes. 

3. Drain the quinoa and mix in the oil, lemon juice, chopped cucumber, mint and season well. 

4. Lastly, spoon the cooked lamb onto the quinoa salad, sprinkle with the sticky topping and scatter with the pomegranate seeds. 

Serve with salad and dips :)