Byessar with crispy lamb

Serves 4

Mark Hi
Wednesday 04 July 2007 15:16 BST
Comments

This is the North African broad bean version of houmous. It's a dip-cum-starter, and in my opinion, you really don't need to shell the beans. Frozen ones would also be fine here. You can make this with or without the lamb for a vegetarian starter or dip.

I've added a broad bean relish made with a simple mixture of chopped tomato flesh, cooked broad beans, shallots, olive oil and coriander, which suits the dish if you are serving it as a starter.

A piece of boneless breast of lamb (or you could use another lean cut) weighing about 400g
Vegetable or corn oil to serve
120-150ml olive oil
1tsp ground cumin
1 small green chilli
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
350g podded weight of broad beans (fresh or frozen)
Flat breads to serve
Paprika or chilli powder to serve

Put the breast of lamb into a pan, cover with lightly salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 1–2 hours until the meat is tender; remove from the water and leave to cool.

Gently cook the cumin, chilli and garlic in a couple of tablespoons of the olive oil for a minute then add the broad beans. Cover with water, add a couple of teaspoons of salt, bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes or until tender. Spoon the beans out into a blender with enough of the liquid to help the blending process. Liquidise until smooth, trickling in the remainder of the oil, then season to taste. It's best to serve at room temperature, so avoid refrigerating it if possible.

Heat about 2cm of the corn oil in a deep frying pan, shred the lamb into small pieces then fry until crisp, turning with a slotted spoon every so often. Transfer on to some kitchen paper.

To serve, spoon the broad bean purée on to serving plates, scatter the lamb on top and dust with paprika and spoon over the broad bean relish if using. Serve with warm flatbread.

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