Baba Ghanoush

Living in London (when I'm not at University) there are cuisines available from all over the world. One of my favourite restaurants is based in the seedy part of Soho, Yalla Yalla serves up authentic Beirut street food. Found down a small alley I only discovered the place after a friends recommendation. Dishes from the menu include Baba Ghanoujj (charcoaled aubergine dip), fattoush (salad that's includes crispy pitta bread and sumac) and Lahem Meshoue (charcoal grilled marinated lamb skewers). I never had a bad meal here and the beers (Almaza Lebanese beer) aren't bad either.

To accompany a recent barbecue I decided to recreate Yalla Yalla's Baba Ghanoujj. Whenever I have ordered it here they garnish it with fresh pomegranate seeds and mint leaves. In my recipe I have included pomegranate molasses. It has sweet and sour notes and can be purchased Waitrose. Sesame seed oil isn't traditionally added however I love the nuttiness and flavour the oil has.

Ingredients...

• 2 medium aubergines
• 4 heaped tbsp of tahini (sesame paste)
• The juice of half a lemon
• 1 clove of crushed garlic
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of sesame oil (if you don't have any, just replace with olive oil)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp Pomegranate molasses 
• Seeds from half a pomegranate
• 2-3 fresh mint leaves

Method...

Bake or grill the aubergines until the skin turns black. Once their centres are soft scrape the flesh out into a bowl, discard the skin. Mix in the garlic, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, sesame oil and the salt and pepper until everything is well combined. Place in the serving bowl, drizzle on the pomegranate molasses then sprinkle on the pomegranate seeds and tear the mint leaves on top.

Top Tip...
Make sure the aubergine skins are scorched all over, this is necessary to achieve that smoky flavour.

Serving Suggestion...
Serve alongside warm flat bread or pitta.

Enjoy!

Greek Inspired Lamb Marinade

I recently bought a leg of lamb from Morrisons yet wasn't entirely sure what to do with it. In the past I have used a french recipe and stuffed the leg with garlic and other herbs and served it with dauphinoise potatoes, although this was delicious I felt it didn't quite compliment the recent tropical climate. A few years back my family and I visited the town of Spanhori on the Greek Ionian Island. The local (and only) restaurant served up simple dishes of barbecued meats and fresh salads. Using this as an inspiration I decided to concoct a marinade of my fond memories of this restaurant..something fresh, zesty and perfect for barbecuing.

Ingredients...

• 4 generous tbsp of olive oil
• The juice of half a lemon
  
• 2 generous tbsp of dried thyme
• 2 generous tbsp of dried oregano
• 6-10 fresh mint leaves
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• a good pinch of rock salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method...

If your going to barbecue the leg of lamb be sure to de-bone it, then *butterfly the meat. Making the marinade couldn't be simpler just put all of the ingredients into a small bowl, mix and rub into the meat. I recommend marinating the leg of lamb at least 2 hours before cooking.I cooked the lamb on a coal barbecue for about 20 minutes each side as I enjoy it slightly rare, but just extend the cooking time if you prefer it medium to well done.

Top Tip...
Rip the mint to release it's wonderful fragrance and help it infuse with the rest of the ingredients


Serving suggestions...
We enjoyed ours with butter bean salad, tomato and onion salad and baba ghanoush (a middle eastern aubergine dip).




*Butterflying meat refers to you cutting the meat almost but not all the way through (opening it up like a book) to increase the surface area so it can cook more evenly.

Kalí óreksi!