Lamb and
aubergine fatteh
This is a great recipe for a crowd
- with every bite, your guests will
luxuriate in different flavours.
PREPARATION TIME 45 minutes
COOKING TIME 2hr 45 minutes
SERVES 6
O4tbsp olive oil
O4 lamb shanks
O1 cinnamon stick, broken up
O2tsp allspice berries
O2tsp coriander seeds
O6 green cardamom pods, bruised
O1tsp black peppercorns
O2 red onions, unpeeled,
cut into quarters
O1 whole garlic bulb,
halved crossways
O2 aubergines, thinly sliced
into rounds
O1 × 400g tin chickpeas, drained
O2 Lebanese flatbreads
OGroundnut oil, for deep-frying
O1tbsp ghee
O2tbsp flaked almonds
O2tbsp pine nuts
OSeeds from ½ large pomegranate
O1tbsp black sesame seeds
O1tsp sumac
OHandful parsley leaves
FOR THE SAUCE
O250g yogurt
O1tbsp tahini
OJuice 1 lemon
O1 garlic clove, crushed
FOR THE SALSA
O1 heaped tsp Turkish pepper paste
(biber salcasi) or good-quality harissa
O2tbsp olive oil
OJuice 1 lemon
O4 tomatoes, peeled and
finely chopped
O1 red onion, finely chopped
O1 green pepper, finely chopped
OLarge handful finely chopped parsley
O1tsp sumac
O1tsp Turkish pepper flakes
(pul biber)*
O½tsp dried mint
1 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan)
mark 4. Pour 2tbsp oil into a large
flameproof casserole over high heat
and sear lamb shanks all over.
Add cinnamon, allspice, coriander
seeds, cardamom pods, peppercorns,
onions and garlic; fry for 1min.
Pour in 1½ litres water, then cover
and cook in oven for 2hr.
2 In the meantime, put aubergines
on a lined baking sheet, drizzle over
remaining 2tbsp oil and season with
sea salt and black pepper. Roast in
oven for 45min or until soft; set aside.
3 Make sauce by simply mixing
all the ingredients together.
4 For salsa, put paste, oil and lemon
juice into a bowl, season with salt and
pepper and stir until well combined.
Then, add tomatoes, red onion,
green pepper, parsley, sumac,
Turkish pepper flakes and dried mint.
5 Take lamb out of oven and add
chickpeas, then cover again and
return to oven for a further 30min.
6 Using scissors, cut Lebanese bread
into bite-sized shards. Fill a large,
heavy-based saucepan a third full withthe deep-frying oil. Heat oil to 180°C- if you don’t have a thermometer, the
oil is ready when a cube of bread
turns golden brown in 20sec. Fry
flatbread for 1min, or until golden and
crisp, then drain on kitchen paper.
7 Heat ghee in a frying pan over
medium heat and fry almonds and pine
nuts until golden and toasty, keeping
a close eye on them, as they can
quickly burn. Drain on kitchen paper.
8 To serve, lift shanks out of casserole
on to a chopping board. Shred meat
with two forks, then lay over a serving
dish. Fish out chickpeas with a slotted
spoon and tumble over lamb, along
with a few ladlefuls of the stock to
moisten lamb (keep rest of stock to make
soup another time). Cover lamb and
chickpeas with aubergines, arranging
them in a single layer, followed by
tomato salsa and dollops of the yogurt
sauce. Finish with fried flatbread,
almonds, pine nuts, pomegranate seeds,
sesame seeds, sumac and parsley.