Get ahead by making paste and marinating lamb overnight. Remove a couple of hours before cooking to come to room temperature. Serve with hassleback potatoes, greens and crispy garlic and carrots with pomegranate
Serves 6-8
FYI you need a food processor
Ingredients
3 (540g) onions - 1 peeled and roughly chopped 2 cut into 6 wedges
6 cloves garlic peeled and roughly chopped
30g fresh ginger peeled and roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
10g roughly chopped dill
45ml olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2kg lamb shoulder bone in
3 cinnamon sticks
12 cardamon pods squished a little
100g soft dried figs quartered
750 ml chicken stock
salt and black pepper
1 lemon cut into 6 wedges
For fig and pisachio salsa:
50g soft figs diced
40 g pistachios lightly toasted and chopped
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
5 g dill leaves picked
5g parsley leaves picked
Method
Put the roughly chopped onion, garlic, ginger, spices and herbs into a food processor and blitz until finely minced. Add the oil, vinegar, 1¾ teaspoons of salt and a generous grind of pepper and blitz into a coarse paste.
Pat dry the lamb and pierce the flesh all over using a small, sharp knife (about 10–12 times). Coat the lamb well with all the paste. You can cook it right away or leave it to marinate, refrigerated, for 3 hours to overnight.
Put the onion wedges, cinnamon sticks, cardamom and figs into a large, ovenproof cast-iron saucepan (28cm in diameter) for which you have a lid. Alternatively, use a large, high-sided roasting tin and some foil to cover. Top with the lamb, fatty side up, then pour the chicken stock into the pan (but not over the lamb) and bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Lower the heat to 140°C fan, baste the lamb with the juices, then cover with the lid or foil and roast for 4½ hours, basting 3–4 times throughout. The lamb should be quite tender at this point. Turn the heat back up to 180°C fan. Remove the lid (or foil) and cook for 30 minutes more, or until the lamb is well browned and the sauce has reduced slightly. Check it at the 20-minute mark.
Gently remove the lamb, leaving it to rest on a baking tray. Pour the contents of the saucepan into a large, shallow platter or dish that has a slight lip and top with the lamb.
Make the fig and pistachio salsa. Combine the chopped figs with the pistachios, lemon juice and the herbs. Spoon this all over the lamb and serve with the lemon wedges alongside.
Enjoy!
Comments
Post a Comment