Israeli cous cous salad with shawarma lamb and zucchini

(serves 4)

A new carbohydrate!! This is always very exciting for me as i may have a carbohydrate addiction. My cupboard already seems to be overflowing with different types of pasta, rice, quinoa, cous cous... but now i have discovered Israeli (or pearl) cous cous, or what i affectionately call, bubbles!! These are round pasta-like granules that have the great chewy pasta texture, but can also be cooked like a risotto, or for salad, or as a side to meats... 
I have had variations of this over the years i think, but i never knew what it was, just this mysterious delicious bubble. I dimly remember the first time i tried it in New Zealand after a big hike. Although i'm sure anything would have been amazing after 4 days of dried pasta & tuna, but i fondly remember these delicious chewy bubbles alongside an amazing rack of lamb chops. I have been on a quest ever since to figure out what they were and rediscovered it several years later in Sardinia as 'fregola', a variation of pasta. I only found out what it was recently when i went to Suzy Q, a super cute cafe in Surry hills with a small but scrumptious menu.

Along with my excitement of finding this, i also wanted to try Sami's Kitchen spices that we got from the Taste restaurant festival, so have come up with this Middle Eastern-influenced dish :) Hopefully the first of many ~ 

Prep time: 10 min

Cooking time: 30 min

Ingredients:

400g lamb rump

2 T Sami's Shawarma Spice blend

1 C israeli cous cous

1 zucchini

1/2 spanish onion

2 cloves garlic

3 sage leaves (optional)

1 pomegranate (optional), seeds r

Rind and juice of 1-2 limes

salt and pepper 

olive oil

Method:

1. Cut the lamb into thick strips and marinate in olive oil, salt, pepper, the spice blend and red wine vinegar. Leave for 1-2 hours or preferably overnight.

2. Cut the zucchini into thin slices and quarter them. Cut the spanish onion into bite-size pieces and finely cut the garlic.

3. Heat a pan on medium heat, add 1/2 T olive oil then add the onion, sage and garlic and cook until soft. Remove, then add the zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook until browned. Remove from the pan.

4. Meanwhile, cook the cous cous in salted boiling water (like pasta) and drain.

5. Clean the pan, then on medium heat, add the lamb strips and cook for 4-5 minutes each side until medium-rare, then remove. Leave for 2-3 minutes to rest, then cut into thin strips. 

6. Toss the cous cous in the pan, then add the remaining ingredients and season with lime rind and juice, salt and pepper. Serve with pomegranate seeds on top (optional, Paul didn't like this but i did so i guess it's personal taste if you like the extra sour, crunchy texture... but it does look colourful!)