Spiced lamb chops and aubergines with labneh and tomato sauce
Charred, marinated lamb, garlicky aubergine, spiced tomato sauce, creamy yoghurt and pickled chillies marry perfectly to create a feast of textures and flavours. Cook on the barbecue or a griddle pan.
Ingredients
For the spiced tomato sauce
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp rose harissa
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- squeeze lemon juice
For the lamb chops and aubergines
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp garlic granules
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tbsp garlic oil, plus extra for brushing
- 8 lamb chops, fat removed
- 1 large aubergine or 2 small aubergines, sliced 2.5cm/1in thick
- 4 tomatoes, halved
- 1 red onion, halved and thickly sliced
- 500g/1lb 2oz labneh or thick Greek yoghurt
- 25g/1oz flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
- handful pine nuts
- 4–5 pickled chillies, mixed colours
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1 tsp pul biber
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
- 4 pitta breads
Method
To make the spiced tomato sauce, heat the chopped tomatoes, harissa, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until reduced to a thick sauce. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool, then blend until smooth using a stick blender.
Preheat a griddle pan or barbecue.
Tip the cumin, paprika, cinnamon and garlic granules into a bowl and mix with the tomato purée, garlic oil and a generous grinding of black pepper. Add the lamb chops and massage the marinade into the meat with your hands. Set aside for a minimum of half an hour, or overnight.
Brush both sides of the aubergines with garlic oil and put on the hot griddle pan or barbecue. Grill for 3–4 minutes on each side until softened and charred. Brush the tomato halves with garlic oil and place cut-side down on the griddle pan or barbecue. Toss the onion with a little garlic oil and place on the griddle pan or barbecue. Cook the onion and tomato for the same amount of time as the aubergine, then remove everything and set aside on a plate.
Grill the marinated lamb chops for about 1 minute on each side. Cook for a little longer if the meat has any fat on it. Season with sea salt and set aside to rest. Make sure you let the lamb rest for at least as long as you have cooked it for.
Warm the pitta breads when you're ready to serve. Spread the labneh or yoghurt over a large platter, dot the tomato sauce through it, then lightly swirl the two together. Arrange the lamb chops on top, interspersed with the grilled aubergines and tomatoes. Season, then scatter over the parsley, pine nuts and pickled chillies. Drizzle over the tahini, sprinkle with pul biber and serve with warm pitta breads.
