Harissa Lamb in flatbreads with tzatziki

I shall apologise (I'm very sorry!) first off, for posting another mince recipe so soon.  Hopefully you'll forgive me when you realise just how good this combination is - and at least it's lamb mince this time.

I do try to ring the changes with the recipes that I schedule in for the week - and blog - but some are just too good to wait.

I'm not sure where I got the idea for this dish from, to be honest.  I think I can remember seeing something on t.v. where hummus was used as a base within a pitta bread which then had other bits heaped on top, but for the life of me I can't remember which programme.  Like a lot of life, these days, it is just a blur.  I'm lucky if I can remember my own name, some days!

Flatbreads have been popular on the t.v. just recently, having been featured in Celebrity MasterChef at least twice - and it's there that I got the idea to use flatbreads instead of pitta bread.  Before I committed myself to the flatbread idea (and, I hasten to add, I had no intention of making them - not this time, anyway - so apologies if you've come here looking for a flatbread recipe) I checked via the online shopper interface whether my local Asda sold them - and it turned out that it does!

Now I like pitta bread, but I do find them to be hard work some days.  Very often, even after heating, they refuse to open properly and you wind up with your filling more "on" them than "in" them.  Plus, they seem to go very leathery and/or hard when they cool down, which is okay if you're wanting to exercise your jaw muscles - but I can do that by talking.  ~innocent look~

Flatbreads, however, have no pocket.  It's a simple matter of filling and folding them in half - much the same as a sandwich.  They are also delightfully light and fluffy - and we've discovered that Asda do three "flavours".  For this lamb dish, I used the tomato & onion version, but they also do a plain version and our favourite (which we didn't discover until after this dish, or I'd have used them here) a "coronation" (aka curried) version.

Apart from the North African flavours (which are just fabulous), the very best thing about this dish is the simplicity with which it comes together.  There really is just the one cooking process to do - the preparation of the mince - and the rest is just assembly.

For the mince, I used the little pot of Harissa paste that had been sent to me by Sainsbury's as part of their promotion of the Speciality Ingredients Range.  I've used Harissa in the past and not been terribly impressed by it - it seemed a bit pale pink in flavour, whereas I was expecting some deep, big flavours.  Well, it would appear that Harissa has come a long way since I first played with it - as the Sainsbury's Speciality Ingredients Harissa contains rose petals, red peppers, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander and caraway and is wonderfully flavoured with all the big, rich, deep combinations that I had given up on.  It is true that I did use the entire pot of paste - but then as prices for the entire range top out at £2.99, even if the little pot cost the full £2.99 it was worth it as the only other thing I used was an onion and the mince itself.

I put together a home made Tzatziki - cucumber in Greek Yoghurt, with fresh chopped mint and some seasoning - and the combination was perfect for dipping one corner of your flatbread into.  Some marinated beetroot, cherry tomatoes and feta cheese added a lovely zing to the dish.  Spicy mince, warm soft flatbread, creamy cool yoghurt and zingy beetroot - I'm beginning to sound like Greg Wallace!

Son and heir loved these flatbreads and has requested a repeat.  Hubby's one criticism, which is more a personal taste observation than a criticism, was that he would have preferred the mince to have been more "saucy" and less dry.  I loved them just the way they were and feel that to have made the mince mixture wetter would have made it problematical to keep it in the flatbread.  As it is, I spread the flatbread with hummus, then added a handful of rocket leaves and piled on the spicy mince.  The hummus did a great job of hanging onto the mince, as did the rocket.  I can imagine if the mince were more fluid, it would wind up dripping down your arm - which has its attractions, it's true!

HARISSA LAMB IN FLATBREADS, WITH TZATZIKI   (makes 6 individual flatbreads)

Ingredients :

500g lamb mince
1 onion, cut into quarters and sliced finely
1 pot (90g) Harissa paste
6 flatbreads
200g hummus 
50g rocket leaves
8cm (approx) cucumber
3-4 tbsp Greek yoghurt
2-3 sprigs fresh mint
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper.

Method :

1.  Heat a large frying pan until very hot, then add the lamb mince and dry fry it until all the water has evaporated, the fat rendered out and the meat is beginning to caramelise.  Drain the fat into a container and set the drained meat to one side.

2.  Place a tablespoonful of the fat back into the pan and add the onion.  Cook on a medium heat, stirring often, until the onion is softened and a light golden brown colour.

3.  Replace the meat back into the pan and bring up to temperature, then mix in the contents of the jar of Harissa.  Reduce the heat and continue to cook for some 5 or 6 minutes, or until the flavours have combined sufficiently.  Check for seasoning.

4.  Sprinkle the flatbreads with a little water and heat in a hot oven for 3-4 minutes.

5.  Taking a flatbread, spread it liberally with hummus, then add a handful of rocket leaves to one half of the spread side.  Pile a generous spoonful of mince onto the rocket leaves and fold the flatbread over, like a sandwich.

Serve with tzatziki and a small salad including some Feta cheese.

Printable version
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Tom Yum Paste from Sainsbury's new "Speciality Ingredients" Range

Sainsbury's have introduced a range of "Speciality Ingredients" to their product line, including such interesting things as Porcini Mushroom Paste, Umami Paste, Tom Yum Paste, Mirrin and Tempura Batter Mix, amongst many others.

When I was asked whether I'd be interested in receiving a selection of these new products, it didn't take me long to say "yes please!".

So, I've been sent the following to try out :

-  Mirrin;
-  Porcini Mushroom Paste;
-  Harissa Paste;
-  Tom Yum Paste, and
-  Chipotle Chilli Paste.

These products all range from around £1.18 to £2.99 and aren't so desperately expensive as you might imagine.  In fact, I'd say they are well worth the money to be able to "play" with them and find out whether a) you like the flavours and b) whether you like what you can do with the ingredients.  All this goes towards whether you'd be prepared to go one step further and create the same thing from scratch at home, or whether you'd be happy to let Sainsbury's do that bit for you!

At the moment, we're still considering what to do with the Harissa, Porcini and Chipotle pastes - so watch this space.  Where the Mirrin is concerned, that has a certain future as we often use it and I was just running out in my current bottle - so fortuitous timing, Sainsbury's!

The one I was exceptionally keen to try, was the Tom Yum Soup Paste.

Now I'm continually looking for a low calorie lunch option.  I have discovered in later life that I do, contrary to popular belief, love soup (who knew?) and I am happy to drink broth type soups, or eat thick hearty soups - and anything in between.

I went through a phase of eating Ramen noodles - the pre-packaged, just-add-water-and-your-own-ingredients version.  However, I had to back off on those because the degree of salt was just too much for my blood pressure and the degree of chilli was too much for my ... well, you know, "digestion", let's call it.

So I could see a happy future for this Tom Yum Paste, so long as it wasn't too chilli hot and equally, wasn't flavoured with lemongrass and that's it.  Today, being shopping day, I laid in the requirements for an acceptable soup i.e. some fresh beansprouts, a few mushrooms and a cheapo bag of prawns.

The instructions on the label are simple to follow and gave me an opportunity to try out some of the Essential Cuisine Fish Stock that I had also been sent to try.  I have to apologise to Essential Cuisine, for it has taken me an unfeasibly long time to try any of their stocks (they sent me six - beef, veal, vegetable, fish, chicken and pork), but summer intervened and I stopped using stock!).

I was jolly impressed by how the plain old water changed as soon as I sprinkled in less than a teaspoonful of the Essential Cuisine stock powder and a wonderful aroma immediately rose from the pot.  There was no stirring and stirring, waiting for the powder to dissolve - it was gone as soon as it hit the water.  Excellent, when you're whipping up a quick lunch!  I had a quick taste before I added anything else and the flavour was really lovely.  Now bear in mind that this is fish stock - you would be forgiven for thinking "yeuk!" at the idea of supping a spoonful.  However, the flavour is really lovely - rounded and full flavoured, reminiscent of creamy shellfish and meaty cod.

Next to be added was supposed to be a tablespoonful of the paste, but as I was cautious of the chilli heat - it IS very red! - I used a little less.

Immediately, the kitchen filled with those lovely Thai aromas of lemongrass, coriander and chilli.  The paste seemed to separate a bit, in that the oil floated to the top of the stock and stayed there - but I could forgive it that if the flavour was good!

End result - first try-out!  Mmmn, nice!

I chose to add the prescribed prawns and mushrooms, but opted to include an additional handful of beansprouts.  I was glad I did, as they made for an interesting crunch which gave what was basically a broth-type soup, some welcome texture.

Plus, I was agreeably surprised at the flavour.  Immediately I realised that the chilli heat wasn't oppressive but in fact is well balanced against the other spices involved.  The paste isn't salty and in fact is absolutely perfect for my favoured low calorie lunch.

It is very possible to ring the changes with this soup, as it all depends what flavour stock you use - and the additional ingredients you include - as to how the final bowlful tastes.

As the first of Sainsbury's Speciality Ingredients, I'd say this one is a big hit!  I shall have to investigate what else is in the range, next time I'm in the shop.

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