A short post this week (I hear you all drawing a huge sigh of relief), I’ve got to get packed for a rather exciting wedding in Northumberland. Katie Witts and Angus Peckham-Cooper are getting married!
In the wedding vein, this recipe reminds me of the delicious tagine HB and chose for our wedding ‘breakfast’ almost 2 years ago; slow cooked and spicy, it was perfect to fill everyone up after a few glasses of champagne and little lunch on a chilly March evening.
I’m not sure what I was thinking last Saturday when I chose to buy a whole lamb shoulder for just HB and me. Luckily we managed to lure the Foxes out of their set for a Sunday night supper to help us make some headway into it.
SPICED SLOW COOKED SHOULDER OF LAMB WITH CORIANDER YOGURT
For 6
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
For the marinade:
2 tsp rose harissa (I like the Belazu one)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp chilli powder
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp olive oil
Black pepper
For the lamb
1 unboned shoulder of lamb
1 onion, sliced
2 cups of water
250ml red wine
2 handfuls of chopped fresh coriander
salt and pepper
For the yogurt
4 heaped tbsp Greek full fat yogurt
1 tsp sumak (or zest of 1/2 lemon if you can’t find it)
1 handful chopped coriander
salt and pepper
WHAT TO DO
- Toast the spices together in a dry hot pan until they smell aromatic and grind in a pestle and mortar
- Mix together all of the marinade ingredients and rub into the lamb. Leave to marinate for at least 2 hours but overnight is best
- Preheat the oven to 160C and put the marinated lamb into a roasting tray. Make sure that you scrape all of the leftover marinade that may be left in the bowl into the tray too
- Pour the water into the tray with the lamb along with the sliced onions and cover with foil. Put into the oven for 3.5 hours until the meat is really soft and coming away from the bone
- Once the meat is cooked, remove it from the juices in the roasting tray and set aside on a warmed plate. Cover with foil and a tea towel to rest
- Put the roasting tray onto a hob, add the wine and reduce the juices by 1/2. Make sure that your scrape all of the gloggy bits from the bottom of the roasting tray with a wooden spoon
- Meanwhile mix the coriander yogurt ingredients together
- Shred the lamb from the bone into a serving dish, check the seasoning of the sauce and pour over. Finish with the fresh coriander and serve with the coriander yogurt
I served this with some roasted butternut squash and steamed edamame and peas. Sumak seems pretty readily available now and it gives a lovely lemony / fresh flavour to the yogurt that works brilliantly with the rich and spicy lamb