Skip to main content
Main

Macedonian Lamb and Chick Peas

A Macedonian lamb and chickpea dish with olives, tomatoes, lemon, parsley, peppers, eggplant, and skewered lamb.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 14 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Lemon and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Macedonian Lamb and Chick Peas

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the chickpea base

  1. Combine chick peas, California Ripe Olives, diced tomatoes, lemon juice, chopped parsley, and minced serrano peppers in a hotel pan. Set aside the mixture.

Grill the lamb and eggplant

  1. Toss lamb pieces with 1/3 cup olive oil, minced garlic, and 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, then thread the lamb onto 12-inch skewers.

  2. Grill the skewered lamb over medium-high heat for 7–9 minutes until cooked to medium, turning occasionally to brown evenly.

  3. While the lamb cooks, brush eggplant discs with the remaining olive oil and season with the remaining salt.

  4. Grill the eggplant over medium-high heat for 2–4 minutes on each side until tender.

  5. Transfer the cooked eggplant to a clean cutting board and dice into 1/2-inch pieces.

Combine and serve

  1. Add the diced eggplant to the chick-pea mixture.

  2. Remove the lamb from the skewers and toss it with the chick-pea and eggplant mixture until evenly combined. Serve warm.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

559Calories
32 gProtein
36 gFat
31 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Lamb100g cooked294
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Pea1/2 cup (72g)62
Eggplant1 cup cubed (82g)35
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Olive1 large (4g)4
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,037 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together27,047 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lamb
Provides the main meaty body and browns on the grill, adding savory flavor.
Chick peas
Supply the bulk and firm, starchy texture that holds up to tossing with the other ingredients.
Eggplant
Softens on the grill and adds a tender, creamy texture to the mixture.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the flavors and balances the rich lamb and olive oil.
California ripe olives
Contribute briny, salty flavor and a soft, meaty bite.
Tomatoes
Add moisture and fresh acidity to the chickpea mixture.

The step that matters

Grilling the lamb to medium. Lamb pieces dry out quickly over high heat if left too long, and turning them occasionally helps them brown evenly while staying juicy inside. Checking doneness before the time runs out keeps the meat tender.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, tomato, lemon, parsley, pepper, lamb, garlic):

  1. Chickpeafits better
  2. Beansfits better
  3. Lentilsfits better
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, tomato, lemon, parsley, pepper, lamb, garlic. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Tomato SoupTomato Soup526 recipesLemon SauceLemon Sauce236 recipesGreen PeasGreen Peas229 recipesCream of Tomato SoupCream of Tomato Soup107 recipes