Moroccan Lamb, White Bean and Carrot Salad

I haven't written in ages. Somehow, even with a calendar that was relatively empty, June was all a bit too much. It was cold and dark and mostly wet and everything was that little bit harder. I don't think I've managed to get up with my alarm more than once, and I've barely made the early bus in the morning. Each day I'm hitting snooze one more time, and each evening I'm retreating to the warmth under the covers a few minutes earlier. I didn't expect it to be this tough, I mean last Winter we had snow and it very often below zero. There's really no reason for it, I think I've just got the Winter blues.

Normally I'd beat the blues with a big pot of something warm and delicious. A cheesy pasta bake, a glass of wine, a nice chocolate pud.  But this Winter I've also got the holy-crap-I'm-thirty blues and all this eating is starting to catch up with me. Every mouthful of warm, comforting, soul-enriching sustenance comes with its own spoonful of guilt. Naturally in this cold, wet, dark weather I've barely been for a run, and my Bikram days seem a lifetime, and half a world away. 

I feel like I've fallen off the bandwagon and what I need is a whole bunch of super nutrition: vegetables, ancient grains, superfoods, spice. Long walks with Ralph all rugged up, runs between rain showers, and somewhere I've gotta drag my lazy butt across town to a yoga class before things get too outta control. 

I decided to start with this salad: it's protein-packed with the lamb, beans and feta so it's filling enough for a meal but it's not so heavy as everything else I've been eating lately. It's some of the comfort with none of the guilt, and it passed the husband-test. It's no green smoothie, but it's a step in the right direction. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

Moroccan Lamb, White Bean and Carrot Salad from Dish, issue #48

500g lamb back straps

1 tsp Moroccan seasoning

sea salt

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp white vinegar

2 cloves garlic, crushed

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp vegetable oil

16 large black olives, pitted

2 carrots, peeled

1 x 400g can white beans, rinsed & drained

small handful coriander, roughly chopped

100g feta

plain yoghurt and harissa paste, to serve

Sprinkle both sides of the lamb with the seasoning and salt. Heat a pan with a little oil and cook 2-3 minutes each side for medium rate.  Rest on a plate for 5 minutes.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and season.

Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and cook the olives 2-3 minutes until the fleshly side blisters a little. Drain on paper towels.

Using a vege peeler, shave the carrots into long thin strips and place in a bowl with the beans. Add the dressing and coriander and toss gently to coat.

Divide the salad between plates and top with the crumbled feta and olives. Slice the lamb thinly and place either on top of or beside the salad, spooning over any meat juices.  Garnish with a little extra coriander and some black pepper. Serve with yoghurt with a little harissa paste stirred through. Enjoy!