Preparing lamb as part of an Easter meal is such tradition and this year we would like to share a different interpretation in the form of a Lamb and Pomegranate Soup.
Try this recipe for a delicious and good-looking alternative on the dinner table and serve it with our 2016 La Motte Cabernet Sauvignon.
LAMB AND POMEGRANATE SOUP
Serves 6
Pomegranates have been a source of food for humankind for thousands of years. In ancient Persia the pomegranate was revered and had many uses, including as a dye, a medicine, as well as in food and drink.
Pomegranates were planted in almost every Cape garden during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. As an aside, even rice was grown at the Cape during that time. Lady Anne Barnard claimed that the rice grown locally was of excellent quality, even better than the imported rice from Batavia.
Meatballs
Ingredients
2 Tbsp (30 ml) ground coriander
1 small bunch spring onions
250 g lamb, minced
Salt and freshly black pepper
Method
Mix the coriander, spring onions and mince and season with salt and pepper.
Roll the mince into tiny balls and set aside in the fridge until needed.
SOUP
Ingredients
⅓ cup (80 ml) long grain rice
⅓ cup (80 ml) green split peas
3 Tbsp (45 ml) olive oil
1 onion, chopped
½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground cinnamon
½ tsp (2.5 ml) turmeric
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 cups (2 litres) chicken stock
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
60 g mint, chopped
6 Tbsp (90 ml) pomegranate syrup, or substitute with
1 cup (250 ml) fresh pomegranate juice, reduced to
6 Tbsp (90 ml) and sweetened with 6 Tbsp (90 ml) sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh pomegranate pip and chopped parsley, mint or coriander for garnishing (optional)
Method
Wash the rice and split peas and soaked in water for 1 hour.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion. Add the cinnamon, turmeric, and salt and pepper. Drain the rice and peas, and stir in. Pour over the stock and simmer for about 20 minutes until the rice and peas are cooked.
Drop the meatballs into the soup. Add the parsley and mint and simmer for 30 minutes.
Stir in the pomegranate syrup. (Add extra sugar to taste, if necessary.) Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot, sprinkled with fresh pomegranate pips and chopped parsley, mint or coriander.
