My dad made this for me first & then told me after I'd tasted the mass of flavours that it was as easy to make as a pork roast with good crackling.
As i'm good at that I thought i'd have a go, but asked dad to double up the spices because they are SO tasty.
We grabbed all the ingredients & not having a pestle & mortar to hand (dad was using it elsewhere) popped them in a clip-seal bag & bashed it until it was a lovely dry mix.
Then we added a glug of olive oil in the bag & mixed it up some more, sealing it up afterwards while we popped our lamb in a large oven tray
Again the recipe is from our Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall recipe book "River Cottage Everyday" which is full of simple & interesting cooking recipes, like my dad says Lamb done this way makes simply cooked vegetables a pleasure
- 15 mins
Cook Time
- 6 1/2 hours
Servings
- Serves 6–10, depending on the size of the joint
Ingredients (for regular strength spice, such as someone who doesn't like currys beyond a "korma" strength)
1 shoulder of mature lamb, mutton or hogget, on the bone
- For the spice paste:
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- ½ cinnamon stick, broken up
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- A pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli powder
- 2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- Leaves from 2 large rosemary sprigs, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
If you have time, toast the cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, cinnamon and peppercorns in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for a minute or so, until fragrant (this boosts the flavour but isn’t essential). Crush to a coarse powder using a pestle and mortar, then combine with the cayenne or chilli powder, paprika, garlic, rosemary, salt and olive oil.
(With a grownup Lightly score the skin of the meat with a sharp knife, making shallow slashes just a few millimetres deep and 1–2cm apart. Rub half the spice paste all over the lamb shoulder, underneath as well as on top, and especially into the cuts. Put into a large roasting tin and place in an oven preheated to 220C/Gas Mark 7. Roast for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and rub the remaining spice paste over the meat using the back of a wooden spoon. Pour a glass of water into the tin (not over the meat), cover with foil and return to the oven.
Reduce the heat to 120C/Gas Mark ½ and cook for 6 hours, or until the meat is very tender and falling off the bone. You can add another glass of water halfway through, to keep the pan juices ticking along.
Transfer the lamb to a warm serving plate. Skim the excess fat off the juices in the tin. Tear the meat into thick shreds and serve with the juices spooned over. Simple accompaniments are all you need: boiled new potatoes (in summer) or some roasted squash (in winter) and a dish of shredded cabbage, greens or kale would be ideal.