Writers and editors on food 10: Michael Pryor

Michael Pryor has published more than twenty-five fantasy books for Young Adults. His latest book is ‘The Extinction Gambit’, the first in ‘The Extraordinaires’ series, from Random House Australia.



Here's his delicious recipe for spiced lamb fillets with two dips.

Serves four.
For the lamb fillets
Eight lamb fillets
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
½ - 1 teaspoon chilli powder
Salt
A handful of rocket per person
Combine cumin, paprika and salt in a large plastic container. Add lamb fillets. Shake until well coated. Cook lamb on hot griddle or in large frying pan for about five minutes, until tender but still pink inside. Put aside for a few minutes, covered with aluminium foil. Slice each fillet into four or five pieces.

For the baba ganoush (eggplant dip)
2 large or 3 medium eggplant
220g plain yoghurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt to taste
Combine all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth.

For the hummus
2 X 400 g tins chick peas (you can cook your own chick peas if you like, but tins are easier)
1 tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon cumin
1 small dried chilli
3 cloves garlic, crushed
8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt to taste
Combine ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. Add some water if the mixture is too thick.

Serve lamb fillets on a bed of rocket, accompanied a dollop of baba ganoush and a dollop of hummus. Crusty bread is a fine addition. A good cabernet goes well with this, but I wouldn’t discount a pinot noir either.

Note: it’s best to make the dips the day before, as the flavours will have time to integrate, especially the garlic. Mmm.