Jono & Jules do food & wine

Really nice flavours in this simple lamb dish and absolutely delicious rice. We’ve been experimenting with Sabrina Ghayour’s book, Feasts, and it has yet to disappoint. The coriander, lime and garlic rice is one of our favourite recipes from the book and could sit alongside so many dishes. This time we served our leftover rice with some roasted white fish.

Wine Suggestion: We find Tempranillo very often goes best with dishes containing preserved lemons and this is no different. With the lamb and coriander in the mix our choice is an aged (8 years old), elegant style of Rioja, the Finca Valpiedra Reserva which was supple and comlex but without any heaviness. If you prefer Ribera del Duero then the higher altitude Pesquera Reserva would be spectacular.

White wines quite often clash with the concentrated citrus notes, so if you feel like white our suggestion would be Semillon which both emphasises this character and compliments it.

Pan-fried Lamb Steaks, Preserved Lemon, Coriander & Garlic – serves 4-6

• 6-8 thin cut lamb leg steaks

FOR THE MARINADE:

• 4 fat garlic cloves, bashed and thinly sliced
• 30g of fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 6 preserved lemons, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
• 4-5 tbsp olive oil

Put the garlic, coriander, preserved lemons and black pepper into a small bowl and season with a little salt. Add the oil and stir to mix.

Put the lamb steaks into a large food bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and rub the marinade all over the lamb with your hands. Marinate at room temperature for at least 20 minutes (or for up to a few hours in the fridge).

Heat a large frying pan over a medium-heat. When hot, add the lamb and fry for a few minutes on each side or until they have taken on a good colour. Leave to rest for a few minutes before serving with the rice.

Coriander, Lime & Garlic Rice – serves 4 to 6

• 50g of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 6 fat garlic cloves, crushed
• 6 large lime leaves, cut into strips
• finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
• 750ml cold water
• 2 heaped tsp coriander seeds
• 2 heaped tsp mustard seeds
• olive oil
• 500g basmati rice
• 75g unsalted butter

Blitz the fresh coriander, garlic, lime leaves and lime zest and juice together in a blender with 250ml of the water. Stir in the remaining water once blended.

Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, then toast the coriander seeds and mustard seeds for a minute or until they start to brown and you can smell their aroma. Drizzle a little olive oil into the pan, then stir in the rice, stirring to coat it in the oil and spices.

Add the butter and wait until it has melted before pouring in the herb liquid. Season well with sea salt flakes, stir and cover with a lid. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed. Fluff the rice with a fork before serving.

(Original recipes from Feasts by Sabrina Ghayour, Mitchell Beazley, 2017.)