lamb Ras El Hanout – Moroccan magic

I even like the words…..Ras El Hanout…….it sounds like a Star Wars character right? It conjures up images and evokes thoughts of The Arabian Nights…lets face it….its dam exotic!! This is the emperor of spice blends, it’s made up of many other constituent parts like cardamom, cumin, cloves, nutmeg, mace, allspice etc, etc – and no one Ras El Hanout blend is ever the same……which adds to its mystique!

You can pick this up just about anywhere ‘pre-built’ but it is worth creating your own if you have an over abundance of spices. It stores well and works perfectly with lamb and chicken and is the dogs nuts when BBQ-ing!

I’ve outlined my own Hanout mix below – but of course feel free to get a the pre-built.

Ingredients

4 butcher bought lamb cutlets

1 heaped tbs Ras El Hanout

100 grams couscous

100 mls chicken stock

100 grams Feta cheese

Parsley

1/2 tin chickpeas

Chili flakes

So – this is ‘stupid easy’ this dish but it will knock some socks off especially when grilling. Kick it all off covering the lamb with a generous dusting of Ras El Hanout (your own or a pre-build). Only do this about 20 minute before you cook – any longer and things can start to dry up a little.

if you wish you can add a little oil to the spice mix – it gets things going pretty quickly.

Leave the lamb to one side and get the couscous together, add 100 grms to a bowl and cover with 100mls chicken stock. Pop a plate on top and leave the couscous to steam for about 10 minutes.

At this stage you can sling the lamb onto the grill and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until just crispy.

Lift the lid on the couscous and ‘fork up’ to get it fluffy – taste and adjust seasoning as you need. At this stage I usually add a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of turmeric.

Lash out onto a board and lay over the lamb finishing with the cheese and if you have it at hand a generous whack of yogurt cut with garlic!

Done deal!

My Ras El Hanout blend:

1 tsp cardamon seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 white pepper corns

4 cloves

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ginger powder

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

1 tsp nutmeg

10 thoughts on “lamb Ras El Hanout – Moroccan magic”

Ras El Hanout is one of my favourite ingredients. Looks great!

iamrorykelly

April 20, 2015 at 9:21 pm Reply

Thank you, I could literally put this on anything!!

Ras El Hanout definitely has that ‘Star Wars character name’ sound to it!

I love the Star Wars reference, but you are right! 😀

iamrorykelly

April 20, 2015 at 9:22 pm Reply

Yeah, shows you how my head works!!

Magic indeed 😘

iamrorykelly

April 20, 2015 at 9:23 pm Reply

Thanks Fitzy…….and for my next trick…..!!
1. Mr Fitz
  
  April 21, 2015 at 7:39 am
  
  waiting in anticipation!

When I first got into Morocan cooking, I saw that the recipes called for Ras el Ras el Hanout – no idea what that f’n was so I ordered it on-line, together with preserved lemons. I figured out that Ras el Hanout is a spice blend of spices I already have on-hand. Having the blend on-hand however, has been great.

iamrorykelly

April 22, 2015 at 8:58 am Reply

Yeah, I love it and I love mucking around with what I already have – same with Garam Masala – I think it stems back to when I was a kid and I use dto raid my Mums spice racks and ‘create’!!