Harissa Lamb with Charred Aubergine & Yoghurt

Ingredients

• 700g lamb leg steaks, cut into thick strips
• 2 tbsp rose harissa
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 aubergines, cut into thick wedges
• 1 red onion, cut into wedges
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 220g Greek yogurt
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 15g mint, finely chopped
• 15g coriander, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp pomegranate seeds
• salt and black pepper to taste
• Warm pitta bread, to serve
• Chopped salad, to serve
• Plain couscous, to serve

Method

1. Stir the rose harissa with the cumin, smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the grated garlic and half the lemon zest. The garlic is raw here and will cook on the lamb — keep an eye on it in the pan later, because once it tips past pale gold it turns bitter and takes the whole rub with it. Bloom is happening dry-on-meat, so the cumin and paprika need that 15-minute sit to wake up: rub the mixture over the lamb strips, season generously with salt and black pepper, and leave it while you prep the veg.
2. Heat a heavy frying pan or griddle until properly smoking — you want to hear a sharp hiss the second anything lands. Toss the aubergine wedges and red onion with the remaining olive oil and a good pinch of salt, then lay them out in a single layer; don't crowd the pan or they'll steam grey instead of charring. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, turning now and then, until the aubergine is soft right through and blackened at the edges. The spices on the lamb will bloom properly the moment they hit this hot pan — that's when they stop tasting dusty and start tasting of themselves.
3. Lift the veg out onto a warm plate. Lay the lamb into the same hot pan in a single layer, working in two batches if you need to — pile it in all at once and the pan temperature crashes, water leaches out, and you'll have boiled lamb in a grey puddle. Sear for 2 to 3 minutes per side until deeply browned outside but still blushing within, or a touch longer if you like it more cooked through.
4. Rest the lamb on a board for 4 to 5 minutes. Cut too soon and the juices run onto the board; rest it and they settle back into the meat where they belong.
5. While it rests, stir the Greek yoghurt with the lemon juice, the remaining zest, the chopped mint and a small pinch of salt. Taste it — it should be sharp, cool and bright enough to cut clean through the spiced lamb. Adjust now, not at the table.
6. Pile the charred aubergine and onion onto a warm platter and lay the lamb strips over the top so the spicy resting juices run down into the vegetables. Taste one final time and add a pinch more salt if it needs it.
7. Spoon the lemon-mint yoghurt generously over the lamb, scatter with the chopped coriander and pomegranate seeds, and serve straight away with plain couscous alongside to mop up every last bit of the juices.