Moroccan Lamb With Couscous

The idea for this recipe came to my mind when I found this product in the supermarket. Jamie Oliver's moroccan herb crust.

Since lamb is my favourite meat, I decided to use the crust with this kind of meat.
Ok I have to admit, that I spent a little more time in the kitchen for this dish but it was definitely worth it! The sauce that goes along with it isn't absolutely necessary because the meat is already nice and juicy but if you prefer having sauces in general, you can give it a try. It actually is an experiment that I came up with spontaneously after checking my fridge and cupboard but I liked how it turned out.

Anyway, on to the recipe!

What you need:

* lamb filet
* Jamie Oliver's moroccan herb crust
* salt
* pepper
* honey
* olive oil
* 1 eggplant
* tomato puree
* crème frâiche
* cinnamon
* paprika (spice)
* vegetable stock
* couscous

Start with the eggplant. Cut it into thin! slices, put those onto a baking tray, coat them with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put them in the oven and turn on the grill function. Depending on your oven, they take +-10-15 minutes.

Cut the meat into palm-size pieces, then season it with salt and pepper. Coat it with fluid honey (if you only have honey that's firm, heat it a few seconds in the microwave), then coat it with the herb crust. Heat olive oil in the pan and take care that the pan isn't too hot. Fry the meat on each side for about 5 minutes.

For the sauce, heat a little water and dissolve the vegetable stock powder. Add a little paprika and cinnamon, tomato puree, honey and black pepper. Use 1-2 tablespoons of crème frâiche or normal cream (I used crème frâiche because I still had some leftovers in my fridge). To make it a little sour, use a bit of lemon juice.

The sauce turned out quite thick so if you're not a big fan of creamy sauces, add more water. I know that different people have different opinions about this issue (I've had several discussions with my mother whether the sauce was too thick or too thin) so you better decide for yourself.

If you don't know how to prepare couscous, check the suggestions on the package. (Or boil the same amount of water than couscous with salt in a pan, add the couscous and take away from heat, wait a few minutes, then loosen the grains with a fork.) Add a little butter, season a little with salt, then serve everything together.