You may be familiar with burghul from the popular salad tabouli. Here, it is cooked with spices, dried fruit and tender lamb cutlets to make a delicious Middle Eastern-style dish.
Lamb pilaf with dates Cut 250 g lean boneless lamb (leg, shoulder or neck fillet) into small cubes. Heat 1 tbsp canola oil in a large frying pan, add the lamb and brown all over. Add 1 chopped onion and 2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger and cook for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add 1 can chopped tomatoes (about 400 g), 2 cups (500 ml) salt-reduced beef stock, 1 tsp each ground cumin and ground coriander, and seasoning to taste. Bring to the boil, then cover and cook gently for 15 minutes. Stir in 1 cup (200 g) basmati rice, a further 300 ml hot stock and 1¼ cups (235 g) pitted dried dates. Cover and cook for 10–15 minutes or until the rice is tender. Scatter over a generous handful of chopped fresh coriander and serve.
Lamb tends to be a fatty meat, but changes in breeding, feeding and butchery techniques have reduced the fat content considerably. Today, lean cuts contain about one-third of the fat that was found in lamb 20 years ago. * Prunes contain useful amounts of potassium, iron and vitamin B6. They are also a good source of dietary fibre.