Lamb Koftas, with Mediterranean Couscous & Homemade Tzatziki

How good does this dish look? The more colourful my food is, the better. I love Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food, in particular, for this reason. The rich flavours are expressed by the rich smells and colours. Eating this kind of food is a real sensory delight, and doesn't need to only be enjoyed in a restaurant.

Lamb koftas are not something we've ever made before, but after reading up on a couple of different recipes, we had a go!

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

• 400g lamb mince
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• Handful of mint leaves, diced
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 pepper, sliced
• 3 tomatoes, quartered
• 1 chilli, diced
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 100g couscous
• Half a cucumber, deseeded and chopped into small pieces
• 250g greek yogurt
• 1 lemon

Method:

1. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan, until they go golden brown. Pour them into a mixing bowl, add the cumin, coriander, 1 garlic clove, lamb mince and mint.
2. Mix together and mould equal sausage shapes. We made 6 in total. Shape them around the skewer, pushing them one third up the skewer. Place on a plate and put in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. It's important you do this for them to bind, and not fall to pieces when you cook them.
3. In the meantime roast the carrot, pepper, tomatoes, chilli and onion in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.
4. Place your deseeded, chopped cucumber into a colander and salt to dry it out. This is important so that your tzatziki isn't watery. In a mixing bowl add the greek yogurt, the dried cucumber (after 15-20mins of drying), 1 garlic clove, 1 handful of chopped mint, a drizzle of olive oil and a drizzle of lemon juice. Fold the mixture through.
5. Rinse the couscous in cold water. Bring 300ml of water to the boil in a pan, adding one cube of vegetable stock, before adding the couscous. Simmer for 10-15 minutes with the lid on. Take the pan off the stove and leave to thicken/cool.
6. Remove your lamb koftas from the fridge. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a frying/griddle pan on a medium to high heat. Lay each kofta on its skewer in the pan. Cook for 5 minutes on either side. Allow to go crispy on each side before turning them, so they don't fall apart.
7. When the vegetables are cooked, remove from the oven and stir through the couscous. Serve the lamb koftas on top of the bed of couscous and drizzle the remaining juice of one lemon.