'The warm spices and sweet, tangy marinade work brilliantly with lamb and are all rich, comforting flavours that are really familiar to me,' says cook Meliz. 'This roast will make a magical showstopper for the festivities.'
Raised in a Turkish Cypriot household in London, Meliz is a self-taught cook and recipe developer who is passionate about her foodie heritage. Her simple, flavour-packed recipes celebrate the rich diversity of Cypriot cuisine.Known as @melizcooks on Instagram, she also has a sizeable foodie following
See more of Meliz Berg’s recipes
Meliz Berg
Raised in a Turkish Cypriot household in London, Meliz is a self-taught cook and recipe developer who is passionate about her foodie heritage. Her simple, flavour-packed recipes celebrate the rich diversity of Cypriot cuisine.Known as @melizcooks on Instagram, she also has a sizeable foodie following
See more of Meliz Berg’s recipes
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Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions
1 cinnamon stick
1 large leg of lamb, bone-in (about 2.2-2.6kg)
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp dried oregano
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1½ tsp sea salt flake
1 x 30g pack mint
5 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp clear honey
zest of 2 clementines, plus 60ml freshly squeezed juice
500ml chicken stock (made using 1 stock cube) - use gluten-free stock, if required
50g coriander (leaves and stalks)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
80g pomegranate seeds
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Make the spice paste and rub it into the lamb several hours ahead, cover and chill. Remove from the fridge 30-45 minutes before roasting.
Brush a large, deep roasting tin with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, then thickly slice the onions into rounds and lay the slices flat in the middle of the tin, adding the cinnamon stick – the onions will serve as a trivet for the lamb.
Grind the coriander seeds fairly finely in a pestle and mortar and add them to a small bowl along with the cumin, paprika, dried oregano, garlic and 1¼ teaspoons of flaky sea salt.
Finely chop the leaves from a couple of the mint sprigs and add them to the bowl along with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the pomegranate molasses, 1 tablespoon of honey, the zest from one of the clementines and 30ml of the clementine juice. Mix everything together to create a loose paste.
Lightly score three long, diagonal incisions across the top of the lamb and sit it in the tin on top of the onion slices. Using clean hands (or wearing gloves), gently rub the spice paste all over the lamb so that it embeds itself within the shallow cuts you made across the skin. Season the lamb with some cracked black pepper, then allow it to sit and come up to room temperature for half an hour, and for the spice paste to infuse the lamb. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170°C, fan 150°C, gas 3½.
Pour the stock into the tray around the lamb and cover the tray with one or two very large pieces of foil, creating enough space over the lamb so that the foil doesn’t stick to the meat and steam can generate within the tent. Pinch the foil securely and tightly all around the edges of the tray and place in the oven, on the bottom shelf.
Slow-roast the lamb for 5 hours, basting every 2 hours, and always ensuring to re-cover the tray tightly with the foil each time you do. Turn the heat up to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4 for the last hour, then 20 minutes before the end, baste again and remove the foil for the remaining cooking time.
Once the lamb is ready, the meat should be almost falling off the bone. Take the tray out of the oven and spoon over the basting juices one final time, but do not put the tray back in the oven. Cover the tray with foil for 10 minutes to let the lamb rest and soak up the juices while you make the mint and coriander sauce.
Very finely chop the remaining mint leaves and all of the coriander then add the herbs to a small bowl with the remaining clementine zest, 3 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses and 1 tablespoon of honey, the remaining 30ml of clementine juice and ¼ teaspoon sea salt flakes, as well as the balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil.
Serve the lamb on a platter, adding the onions from the roasting tin if you wish. Spoon the mint and coriander sauce over and scatter with the pomegranate seeds.
For the perfect roast lamb, we recommend seasoning the surface of the meat, and then searing it, especially fat side down in a pan before roasting. Why bother with searing? Contrary to some stories, searing is less about locking in moisture, and all about improving the flavour!
Lower temp = more succulent meat – Tough cuts like lamb shoulder need slow-cooking to tenderise them. The lower the roasting temperature, the less total moisture evaporation and thus juicier meat.
Cuts of lamb that are popular for slow cooking include the shoulder, leg, forequarter, shanks, neck chops, lamb ribs, and some sausages. These cuts are usually tougher because they have lots of connective tissue and fats, but this makes them perfect for slow and low methods of cooking.
The leg and rack of lamb are perfect for herb-crusting and oven-roasting; since the shank and shoulder are a bit tougher, they fare well in stews or braises—the long cook time allows them to significantly break down and become fork-tender.
Whether boneless or bone-in, the perfect leg of lamb should be either oven-roasted until blushing pink on the inside (with an internal temp around 130°F) or roasted long and slow for several hours until the meat is very tender and falls apart to internal temp around 175°F (I often use the slow cooker for that).
Brown the lamb first, in batches if necessary. This will maintain a high heat in the pan and caramelise the juices, which will improve the colour and flavour of the meat. Although lamb is a little more fatty than other meats, don't trim all of it away before cooking.
If it is not tender the collagen has not broken down fully. Make sure the temp is low on your crockpot not medium or higher. After you cooked it there's not a lot you can do, but learn from your mistakes, next time lower the temperature and cook for longer. Any meat, the slower you cook it the more tender it will be.
Slow-cooking lamb requires patience. While cooking, resist the urge to keep checking on the lamb and refrain from opening the oven or slow cooker. Opening the lid or foil too often will lower the temperature and extend the cooking time, making the meat less juicy and tender.
Lamb is quite a strong flavour, so can withstand plenty of flavourings. Most recipes use chicken or vegetable stock, as lamb stock can be too strong for this quantity.
It's difficult to overcook shanks, especially in a slow cooker. However, if you leave them in the cooker for many more hours than the recipe suggests, they may completely fall apart, and the meat can eventually turn stringy and dry. It can still be eaten, however it won't be as succulent and delicious.
Washing beef, pork, lamb, or veal before cooking it is not recommended. Bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can be spread to other foods, utensils, and surfaces. We call this cross-contamination. Some consumers think they are removing bacteria and making their meat or poultry safe.
Immediately putting this large cut of meat in the oven after removing it from the fridge can lead to uneven cooking and an even longer cooking time. To ensure a leg of lamb cooks evenly, remove it from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for an hour before cooking.
As turnips and potatoes cook, place a large, heavy, ovenproof skillet, preferably cast iron, on the stove over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Place lamb in pan and sear until browned on the bottom, 1½ to 2 minutes. Turn lamb and place pan in the oven.
It's not really necessary to sear your roast before cooking, but caramelizing the surface gives the cut an incredible depth of flavor, enhanced with the complex layers of nutty caramel and coffee-like bitterness that meat-lovers find delicious.
The meat will cook just fine without searing. (And any surface bacteria will die during cooking anyway.) But I really believe that the depth and complexity of flavor we gain in this searing step is well-worth the extra effort.
No, you don't have to brown lamb before slow cooking. The meat will still become moist and fall-off-the-bone tender. However, the slow cooker will never be hot enough to brown the meat, so if you decide to skip this step be aware that the finished dish may look paler than expected.
Introduction: My name is Velia Krajcik, I am a handsome, clean, lucky, gleaming, magnificent, proud, glorious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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Prep time: 45 mins
