SERVES 4-5
TAKES 5 HOURS, PLUS 12 HOURS TO MARINATE
A wonderful offering with a twist on the classic roast lamb dinner. A lighter way to enjoy this meat as we enter the milder weather of Spring, this dish is heady with garlic, ground coriander, smoked paprika, cumin and cardamom, with zingy lemon juice to cut through the spices. It works beautifully with the strong flavours of lamb and lends itself fabulously to slow and gentle cooking. The rest of the process is relatively simple to assemble, yet still makes for an impressive centre piece where each individual can build their own combinations of flavours to their tastes.
The day before you want to cook, mix all of the marinade ingredients together so everything is combined well. With a sharp knife, pierce the lamb shoulder all over then pour over the marinade, pushing the spices into the incisions. Make sure the lamb is covered evenly in the marinade then cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge overnight.
The day you want to cook, remove the lamb from the fridge 3 hours before to allow it to come to room temperature.
Preheat your oven to 160C fan.
Place the lamb shoulder in a large baking tray, cover with one layer of parchment paper then two layers of foil, wrapping tightly to ensure no air escapes. Place in the oven for 4 hours 30 minutes.
1 hour before the lamb is finished, you can make the yoghurt. Grate the cucumber and place in a sieve, sprinkle over a generous amount of salt and allow to sweat for 10 minutes. Squeeze the grated cucumber well so all of the liquid has drained and place in a bowl, along with the rest of the ingredients. Whisk well so the tahini blends into the yoghurt, adjust the seasoning to your taste if you feel you need to at this stage. Set aside for later.
You can also prepare the pickled red onions and chillies. In a bowl, mix together the vinegar, salt and sugar until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Add in your sliced onions and chillies and allow to sit in the pickling juice until the lamb is done.
Remove the lamb from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes before serving.
Now you can begin to build your flatbreads, gently warm them in the oven for 5 minutes, spread the humous over the base, carve up the lamb and place a generous amount on top, adding the pickled red cabbage, the garlic yoghurt, a few of the pickled onions and chillies, rocket and the chopped herbs. Drizzle over some of the flavoured oil from the lamb (optional). Enjoy!
2.5kg lamb shoulder, bone in
For the marinade:
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp olive oil
For the pickled red onions and chillies:
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced into disks
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
For the garlic tahini yoghurt:
300g natural Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp tahini
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
½ cucumber, grated
1 tsp salt
1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Rest of ingredients:
Flatbreads, we used Deli Kitchen Greek Style Flatbreads
Pickled red cabbage
Handful of rocket
Small handful of dill, finely chopped
Small handful of coriander, finely chopped
Hummus, for spreading
