Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
4 lamb rumps (about 160g-180g each)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and cut
few sprigs fresh thyme
harissa paste (optional)
Couscous salad
½ cup olive oil
grated rind from one lemon
1 cup lemon juice
a pinch each of sugar and salt
1 cup of instant couscous
400 g can chickpeas, drained
1 cup coriander leaves
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220ºC. Rub the cut garlic cloves over the lamb rumps, brush the lamb with a little oil, sprinkle with thyme leaves and season with salt and pepper.
2. Place the lamb rumps on a rack in a roasting dish. Roast for 15 minutes for rare, 20-25 minutes for medium, or 25-30 minutes for well done. Trim beetroot stalks, halve or quarter the beetroot. Place on a baking tray, drizzle with oil and roast in the oven with the lamb for 20-30 minutes or until tender.
3. Remove lamb, cover loosely, rest lamb for 10 minutes before serving. Serve lamb sliced on top of a spoonful of salad. Serve harissa on the side.
To make couscous salad:
combine the oil, lemon rind and juice, salt and sugar. Make up the instant couscous according to directions on packet. Combine couscous with chickpeas, coriander leaves and dressing.
Serving suggestion: Harissa is a spicy chilli paste made from red peppers and usually ground cumin and coriander. It is quite spicy and an optional ingredient for this recipe. You can buy it in jars from some supermarkets and good delis.
Tips
Lamb rump is one of the muscles from the lamb leg. Depending on the size of leg it comes from lamb rumps can weigh from about 160g to 250g each. You may need to pre-order them from your butcher. They’re quick to cook and very flavoursome.