STRAYA EVE

Living in a country you emigrated to and being thrown into mass national pride before a public holiday is a strange feeling. Australia Day traditions, to me, seem to involve barbeques, cricket (or any sport for that matter), lamb, temporary tattoos bearing the Southern Cross and lots of beer.  

Well, this household decided to throw their own cultural celebrations on the eve of Australia Day.  An 8 hour day working 'for the man' crammed full of work to compensate for the well-deserved day off, I left  feeling very drained and very hungry. Almost deciding to chuck in the towel and get gourmet pizza from the very brief walk home from the train station, my saviour came in the form of a text message from the housemate declaring that night, of all nights, was destined for a gourmet feast.

What a feast it was - so delicious I simply must share it with you.  Let me take this opportunity to add a  disclaimer that the culinary work below is courtesy of the flatmate. But I did help prepare like an eager 7 year old child. I even seeded the pomegranate.

harissa crusted lamb rack with jewelled israeli couscous

  1 lamb rack (approx. 10 cutlets), whole

  2tbsp harissa paste

  250g Israeli couscous

  200g fetta, crumbled

  100g dates, pitted and diced

  zest from 1 lemon (finely chopped preserved lemon peel would also work well)

  1 cup mint, shredded

  2 red chillies, seeded and sliced

  2tbsp lemon juice

  3tbsp olive oil

  60g almond flakes

  40g sundried apricots

  1/2 pomegranate, seeded

  1 handful coriander, chopped

Preheat oven and dish to 200 degrees.  Massage harissa paste over lamb rack and leave to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes (the more time you have, the better).  Bake for 20 minutes (we did for 20 minutes, this will produce a rare, juicy rack - however cook according to your oven and your liking).

Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and add couscous.  Boil for approximately 7 minutes (this cooks the same way as pasta - boil until al dente).  Drain, rinse until cold water and drain again.  Set aside.

Place couscous in a large bowl and add fetta, dates, lemon zest and juice, chillies, olive oil, almond flakes, apricots, pomegranate and coriander and gently stir to combine.

Serve the couscous and with the lamb sliced into cutlets and be prepared to want more than you need - as this dish is bloody delicious.