Harissa Lamb with Charred Aubergine & yoghurt

Ingredients

• 700 g 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
• 220 g Greek yoghurt
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 15 g mint, finely chopped
• 15 g coriander, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp pomegranate seeds
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 200 g chopped tomato, cucumber and lettuce salad, dressed with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 240 g dry couscous, cooked

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.
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 toast properly the moment they hit this hot pan.
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.
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.