Work has become relentless over the past two weeks but you’ll be pleased to hear that nearly every spare minute has been spent in the kitchen.
With lamb shanks well and truly perfected by a dear friend of mine, and having already done a lamb shoulder previously, I decided on a Slow-cooked Leg of Lamb with Mangos and Cinnamon.
It was simply one of the best meat dishes I’ve ever had the pleasure of making.
The recipe was ridiculously straight forward, and was served with a light couscous salad, fresh greens, mint yogurt and warm naan breads.
The shopping list:
1 leg of lamb, 100g dried mangos, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 tbsp organic runny honey, sunflower seeds
150ml white wine vinegar, 700ml lamb stock, 4 smoked garlic cloves (normal is also fine)
2 red onions, 1 tbsp smoked paprika and 1 tbsp cayenne pepper, fresh rosemary, mint and tarragon
Couscous, 1 red pepper, 1 bunch of spring onions, fresh basil and coriander
Naan bread, 300g Greek style natural yogurt, 1/2 a cucumber
For the rub:
Zest of 1 lime and lemon, olive oil, ground coriander, dried rosemary
The night before you cook the lamb, rub it generously(!) with olive oil, salt and pepper, the citrus zests and the herbs and spices. Place inside 2 freezer bags… into the fridge it goes.
Set the oven to 220 degrees celsius.
Chop the onions however you like, they don’t need to be chopped finely at all. Crush your garlic cloves, don’t bother peeling them.
Heat some oil and butter in a large casserole dish on high. Throw in the onions and garlic. Cook on medium for 5 minutes.
Turn the heat up high and brown your leg of lamb nicely on both sides. Remove from the dish and turn the heat back to medium. Throw in the sunflower seeds with the white wine vinegar.
Season well.
Once the vinegar begins to bubble, chuck in the mangos and a handful of tarragon. Add the smoked paprika and cayenne pepper.
Keep on medium high. Add the lamb stock, around 4 or 5 fresh rosemary stalks. Crush your cinnamon stick into the mixture and finally add the honey.
After around 3 minutes on medium, you can add the leg of lamb again.
Season well.
Bring to the boil and cover. Place into your hot oven and reduce the temp down to 140 degrees celsius.
Leave for 4-5 hours, turning the joint of meat every hour.
When the time arrives, your house should be filled with the most amazing smell.
At this point I chopped my cucumber finely and mixed with a handful of fresh mint and the yogurt.
Get your naan breads in the oven!
The couscous salad simply included diced red pepper and spring onions, basil and coriander. I’m sure you know how you like your couscous anyway…
Finish with a handful of fresh parsley over the lamb. Perfect with those warm naan breads and mint yogurt.
Enjoy!x
Food and Tunes 