Spiced lamb and herby quinoa crumble recipe

Serves 4
Hands-on time 50 min, oven time 20-25 min
Easy

Who said a crumble can't be savoury? This one combines spiced lamb with a crunchy quinoa topping for an impressive Middle Eastern-style dish with a difference.

Nutritional info per serving

Calories 680kcals
Fat 39.2g (16.8g saturated)
Protein 41.5g
Carbohydrates 38.9g (8.5g sugars)
Fibre 6.1g
Salt  1.5g

INGREDIENTS

500g lean British lamb mince
1 tbsp light olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1-2 green chillies, chopped
5cm piece fresh ginger, grated
2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
500ml fresh chicken or lamb stock
200ml tomato passata
Seeds ½ pomegranate

For the herby quinoa crumble

190g uncooked quinoa, rinsed 
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
150g feta, crumbled
Zest 1 lemon
Handful fresh mint, leaves sliced
Handful fresh parsley, leaves chopped

You’ll also need…

1 litre ovenproof dish

METHOD

1. Fry the mince, without oil, in a non-stick frying pan, breaking it up with a fork or wooden spoon as it browns. Transfer to a colander set over a bowl to drain.

2. Wipe out the pan with kitchen paper, then add the light olive oil and heat. Cook the onion over a low heat for 10 minutes or until softened. Stir in the flour, spices, chillies, ginger and garlic, then cook for 2 minutes. Return the mince to the pan (discard the drained juices) and pour in the stock and passata. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

3. Meanwhile, simmer 150g of the quinoa in a medium pan of boiling water for 15-20 minutes, or cook according to the pack instructions. Drain well, then set aside in a large bowl for 5 minutes. Fluff up with a fork, then stir in the remaining 40g uncooked quinoa along with the extra-virgin olive oil, feta, lemon zest and most of the herbs (reserve some to garnish). Taste and season. 

4. Heat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5. Pour the lamb mixture into a 1 litre ovenproof dish, then spoon over the quinoa crumble. Cook for 20-25 minutes until the topping is golden and the sauce is bubbling. Scatter over the pomegranate seeds and reserved herbs to serve.

Tips

If you have some wine open (red or white), add a glug to the pan in step 2.
The chillies add flavour rather than heat, so don’t be put off if you’re not a fan of spicy food. If you’re not keen on lamb mince use beef mince instead.

To Drink

A Spanish red, especially a young tempranillo or garnacha, is a lively match.