Lamb with Middle Eastern Flavoured Mint Sauce
This is one of my favourite lamb recipes. The house fills with a wonderful spiced aroma and every guest that walks through the door can’t help but comment on how delicious lunch smells. The herbs and spices really look like an eclectic mix, trust me they work. The end result is a blend of the familiar, with the marriage of lamb and mint sauce, lifted by the warming and flavoursome Middle Eastern herbs and spices.
- 1 lamb shoulder * see notes
- 2 large red onions cut into thick slices
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
- 1 Tablespoon harissa or chilli paste or sauce
- 1 Tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 glove of garlic, crushed
- Grated zest of 1 lemon juice of the 1 lemon
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Sauce/Gravy
- 1 Tablespoon tomato puree
- 1½ Tablespoons of butter
- 1 teaspoon mint sauce
- 1 tablespoon of cornflour
- Juices from the roast
- Place the thick onion wedges on the bottom of your slow cooker or roasting tin.
- Add the herbs, spices and oil to a little bowl, mix everything together and then massage and rub the mixture all over the lamb.
- Set your slow cooker to low and cook for 7 hours (slow cookers are all differ so look at your manual for your specific model).
- If you are cooking in the oven set the oven to 140 degrees and cook for 4 to 6 hours or for the time instructed for your joint size.
- When the meat is cooked, pour off all the juices (excluding the fat layer) and add in the onions into a jug.
- Using a stick blender or liquidiser blitz everything, making sure the onions are processed to a puree.
- Place the onion and meat juices into a pot and add all the sauce ingredients, stir to combine all the ingredients and allow everything to simmer for a few minutes.
- I like a thicker sauce so add 1 teaspoon of corn flour diluted in 1 tablespoon of water to make a thicker style gravy rather than a jus.
- In winter the lamb is delicious with rice, mash and vegetables and in summer with a green salad and steamed baby potatoes.
Lamb shanks
Leg of Lamb
Boneless Rolled Lamb Joint
Other Cooking Options:
If you don't have a slow cooker, but want the effect that it gives to meat (tender and falling off the bone), turn your oven to 140 degrees Celsius and double the recommended cooking time on your packet.
You can cook the roast according to the instructions from your butcher or on the packet of meat and the end result will be as good.