My Family’s Epic Lamb Roast

Every family has a roast.

I am talking about these familiar massive hunks of meat that are always present at big family gatherings or special family events. It is usually an age-old recipe handed down over generations, hardly ever changing at all because of how attached family members have grown to its distinctive taste and aroma.

This is mine.

This recipe was my paternal grandmother’s. When my father married my mom, he made sure to teach her this special family heirloom, to be added to their recipe repertoire.

The thing about lamb is, so many people think they don’t like it. And I have to say, I really do understand…poorly cooked lamb can be a horrible thing, especially the lamb we grew up with in Egypt which is very, well, lamb-y. It has a strong smell to it that only disappears when the piece of meat is cooked correctly.

Because of this reason, there was an unspoken rule in our family; never tell new guests that this is lamb until after they have eaten. Not the most ethical thing in the world, I know, but it definitely worked to get rid of lamb-discrimination. My father strongly believed that lamb was merely misunderstood.

And, much to my father’s delight, every single time even the pickiest of lamb-haters was converted and ended up asking for the recipe. That’s how good this is.

It really is a very simple recipe…the secret lies in two components: the cooking method, and one humble ingredient.

The cooking method is low and slow. Leg muscles are one of the hardest-worked muscles in the body, and so slow cooking is the perfect way to break down all the tough tissue and transform it into fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth meat that diners will fight over.

The humble ingredient, which I have never really seen being used in this way before is (don’t hold your breath) grated carrots. Sounds very uninteresting, I know…but hear me out.

When you cook the meat for such a long time at such a low temperature, these modest grated carrots start to release their natural sugars and caramelize. They all but disintegrate, while creating the most deliciously dark and caramelized crust and gravy.

I also think that people feel very intimidated by cooking such a big slab of meat and by the term “slow-roasting”, when in fact, it may be one of the easiest cooking methods of all.

This is because people tend to confuse time-consuming with difficult. There is a HUGE difference. And while this recipe may be extremely time consuming, the actual hands-on prep time is less than 15 minutes. After that, you just throw the whole thing in the oven and let it do all the hard work for you. All you will need to do is to check on it every few hours and make tiny adjustments.

So I stand by my statement that this recipe is DEAD easy, perfect for a chilly day when you know you will be home all day or have other housework to do. It is also SO impressive when you are having guests over, where they will think that you spent the whole day slaving away at stove…bonus!

The smell that fills the house while the meat is cooking is one that takes me back home, straight to my family’s house in Mohandessin. Memories of Ramadan evenings and the quiet anticipation before Iftar come flooding in, and I can’t help but be transported to a simpler time when everything was familiar and things made sense, and there was a general sense of togetherness that has all but gone extinct in today’s random world.

Traditionally, we serve this with deep-amber, cinnamon-scented friend vermicelli (she3reya in Arabic), but since I had some cauliflower couscous leftover, I opted for practicality and served it with that and some roast veggies (I can almost hear a grunt of disapproval from my late grandma’s grave…sorry grandma!)….that’s not to say that I won’t be sharing that vermicelli recipe with you in the future.

SLOW-ROASTED LEG OF LAMB

Prep time: 10 min

Standing time: overnight

Cook time: 5-6 hours

Ingredients:

• One bone-in 2kg leg of lamb
• 2 onions, finely grated
• 2 carrots, finely grated
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. mastic*, crushed into a powder (mesteka in Arabic)
• 1 tsp. powdered cardamom
• 2 tsp. mixed spice
• 1 tsp. crushed pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 ½ tsp. salt

Instructions:

• In a large roasting tin or a cast iron pot, place the lamb. Add all the other ingredients and take a couple of minutes to rub them all over the lamb leg. Cover the pot (or use foil/plastic if you are using a roasting pan) and let rest in the fridge overnight. This step is crucial.
• The next day, preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. remove the lamb from the fridge and place it into the oven. Cook for 3 hours, covered.
• After 3 hours, remove the lid or the foil, and roast for another 2-3 hours. During this part of cooking, you will need to check on the lamb every half hour or so. Using a large spoon, scoop up some of the sauce over the lamb to baste it a couple of times. If the pan is getting too dry, add some hot water, about a cup at a time. You will notice the crust of the lamb will be getting darker and darker; this is good! Don’t freak out. Just make sure there is enough liquid in the pan so that nothing burns.
• The lamb is ready when it becomes fork-tender, and you can easily shred it off the bone. I find this happens in about 6 hours total of cooking time.
• Take the lamb out of the oven, and using a spoon, skim as much fat as possible off the gravy. Serve with vermicelli, rice, or roast potatoes.

NOTES:

• Mastic is a natural resin from the Mastic tree, also known as ‘Arabic Gum’, and is used in Arabic and Greek cooking. Look for it in health stores or specialty Middle Eastern or Greek shops. If you can’t find it at all, just omit it.
• If you are using a larger leg of lamb, just increase the amounts of the rest of the ingredients accordingly. The cooking time will remain more or less the same.

Guest Post on Buttered Up

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I am thrilled and honoured to be featured as a guest blogger on the lovely Sarah Khanna’s blog Buttered Up, one of the first blogs ever to introduce me to and make me fall in love with the world of food blogging. I share my recipe for a stuffed eggplant dish called Imam Bayildi, as well as the usual rants and thoughts that always accompany good food.

Head on over to Buttered Up to check it out: here.

Salmon Teriyaki & Wombok Salad

A couple of years ago, I had to be put on an anti-inflammatory diet to try to get my autoimmune condition under control. It was quite a restrictive plan. One of the guidelines was that I had to consume fish several times a week.

I must admit, I am not the biggest fan of fish. I don’t detest it, but I would usually rather have something else if given the choice. However, I wanted to get the most out of that nutrition program, so I took the opportunity to try to change how I feel about fish.

I decided to start with Salmon.

We have all heard of the plethora of benefits of eating salmon, specifically wild-caught. The good news is that it also turned out to be quite delicious!

During these 3 months, I ended up eating vast amounts of this gorgeously pink-fleshed fish and I experimented with  several different ways to cook it, but my favourite remains to be this recipe right here.

What I love about this recipe is how low-maintenance it is. All you do is mix up a marinade, toss in the fish and leave it in your fridge until 25 minutes before you are ready to eat. Then you just throw the whole thing in the oven and set your timer while you put the salad together. Easy!

The first time I tried this recipe, I cooked the salmon in a hot pan on the stovetop, and I found it to be way too messy for my liking. The fish splattered aggressively all over the kitchen and the entire house was left smelling fishy for at least 4 days.

Thankfully, the oven method avoids all that, and the great thing is that you can use the same dish for marinating, cooking and serving the Salmon! Less clean-up is ALWAYS a bonus!

As for the salad, I only learned about it recently after moving to Australia. I would usually serve the salmon with spinach or rice, but as soon as I tasted this salad at a friend’s house, I was hooked! It was so incredibly crunchy and fresh, and the Asian inspired flavours go just perfectly with the teriyaki marinade of the fish.

Give it a go for a quick, easy and wonderfully healthy mid-week dinner.

SALMON TERIYAKI WITH WOMBOK SALAD

Prep time: 5 min          Cook time: 20-25 min

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

For the Salmon:

• 4 salmon fillets
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 5 tbsp water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 slices of fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp honey/ coconut sugar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• Juice of half a large lemon or 1 tbsp rice vinegar

For the Salad:

• ½ a Chinese cabbage, shredded (also known as wombok)
• 100g slivered almonds, toasted
• 6 spring onions, sliced

Dressing:

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp vinegar (I use rice vinegar)
• ¼ tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

• Add all the ingredients for the salmon marinade into a baking dish, whisk to combine well. Place the salmon fillets into the marinade, turning once or twice to coat with the sauce. I like to use skinless fillets for this recipe. Cover dish with cling film and place in the fridge for minimum 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Remove the cling film and place the salmon in the oven. Cook for 20-25 minutes, turning on the top grill for the last 10 minutes of cooking time to get a nicely browned crust.
• Meanwhile, place all the ingredients for the salad into a large bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients together (I like to use a jar. I place all dressing ingredients in and shake the jar to mix together). Dress the salad only just before serving.
• When the fish is ready, remove from oven and serve with the cooking sauce.

Mushroom Risotto

A hug in a bowl. This is what best describes a good risotto. It may just be the most perfect lazy, chilly afternoon meal of all time.

All you need is a bowl, ONE piece of cutlery (either a fork or a spoon, I’ll give you some say in the matter), a couch and a nice cozy blanket. Minimal chewing required.

For some unfathomable reason, risottos have this terribly false reputation of being extremely difficult to master. I really don’t understand where that came from because, honestly, if you can hold a wooden spoon and stir every minute or so for 20 minutes, then congratulations; you can make a risotto!

What’s great about risottos is that they can be either a very economic or extravagant dish, depending on what you choose to add to them. Personally, I have tried many risottos, and my favourite continues to be the humble mushroom risotto. There is something terribly comforting, I find, in the mellow earthiness of mushrooms, combined with some classic parings such as garlic and parsley. It hits the nail on the head when I don’t feel like eating meat, without ever feeling like a compromise, which I sometimes find vegetarian recipes do.

The steps are pretty straightforward. I wanted to take a few shots of the cooking process to make things easier for you to visualize, but I do apologize for the horrendous kitchen lighting. I don’t even have a window in there.

First, you cook the mushrooms.

Once they are nice and browned, you take them out and set them aside. Now you cook your onion and garlic.

Next, you add the rice and toast for a minute or so, then return the mushrooms into your pot (juices and all).

Traditionally, the following step would be to deglaze the pot with some wine before you begin to add your stock. I do not use alcohol in my cooking, but if you do, by all means go for it. I found that using a small amount of white grape vinegar does the trick well too…but in any case, it is not necessary. You can just move on to the stock straight away.

So now, all you do for the following 20 minutes is add hot stock, a couple of ladlefuls at a time, and stir until it is all absorbed before adding more. You will be amazed at how creamy the risotto gets as u proceed, all from just the natural starch in the rice.

..Or maybe it’s magic. Your call.

At about 20 minutes, you taste. The rice should be cooked but slightly al-dente and keeping its shape well. Once you are happy with the doneness of the rice, you add the finishing touches (butter, parsley, parmesan, adjust seasoning) and you’re done!

Look at that.

No really, LOOK.

Commence drooling.

MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Prep time: 10 min           Cook time: 30 min           Total time: 40 min

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (240g) Arborio rice
• 1-1.5 liters vegetable stock (you may also use chicken stock)
• 400g mushrooms, sliced (I use a mixture of white button mushrooms and swiss brown)
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp butter (feel free to add more, I won’t judge)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar (also known as white grape vinegar, optional)
• ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
• ½ a bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Heat a large, slightly shallow pot (I like to use my enameled cast iron dutch oven here, but any pot will do) over medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add mushrooms and cook until nicely browned. This may take up to 10min.
• Meanwhile, place your stock in another saucepan on the stove on low-medium heat to warm up. You want it to be simmering gently through the whole process, so that it is hot when you add it to your risotto and doesnt stop the cooking process. Keep an eye on it.
• Once browned, remove mushrooms and set aside on a plate. Turn the heat down to medium and add another tablespoon of oil to the pot. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add the rice (do not wash the rice!) and stir for a minute or two to coat all the grains with the juices and toast slightly.
• If using the vinegar, add it now. It will sizzle violently, which is a good thing. This means it is scraping off all the lovely bits off the bottom of the pot. Give it a quick stir for about 30 seconds, then return your mushrooms to the pot and add your first 2 ladlefuls of stock. Stir, making sure nothing is stuck to the base of the pot.
• Continue to add stock a ladleful or two at a time, stirring frequently between each addition. Always wait until the stock is almost entirely absorbed before adding the next ladleful. After about 20 minutes, have a taste. The rice should be cooked and creamy but slightly al-dente and not falling apart. If it is still too tough, give it a few more minutes and some more stock.
• Once you are happy with the doneness of the rice, turn off the heat. Add the butter, parsley, and ¼ cup of the parmesan. Stir until melted, and taste. You may not need to add any salt because the stock and the cheese are both salty, but do if you feel it needs some.
• Serve immediately, with remaining parmesan generously sprinkled on top.

Tandoori Chicken

“What am I in charge of mama?”

“You and your sister can go set the table”

I frown. Setting the table was the most boring task, and was nowhere near the excitement of the kitchen. I knew it was the adults’ way of getting rid of the kids and shooing them off.

“But that’s boring! I want to help you INSIDE the kitchen!”

My mama chuckles. She knows I do.

“Ok how about slicing the chicken? Can you handle that?”

My eyes light up! A real job! And with KNIVES! I grab one of the squeaky (and highly worn down and unstable) chairs around the kitchen table, climb onto it so that I’m on my knees and get straight to work. I feel all important, part of the serious cooking process, and I am bursting with pride. I don’t think there was ever a more enthusiastically sliced chicken.

This was a regular occurrence in our home. Both my parents loved to cook, and loved to get us involved. My mother would always encourage us, and was thrilled that my younger sister and I showed such eagerness (especially after she failed ever so miserably in sparking even the slightest interest towards cooking in my older sister, who was the girly-girl of the house, and would much rather be painting her nails or chatting with her girlfriends on the phone than being anywhere near the kitchen).

I, on the other hand, found that buzz that filled the house before a dinner party absolutely irresistible, and I wanted to be a part of everything I could possibly get my hands on. We did have help (usually 2 or 3 wonderful cooks/housekeepers/nannies at any given time), but both my Mama and Papi were extremely hands-on, and were there to meticulously supervise and make sure everything was utterly PERFECT.

I’d walk out to the dining room and glimpse my father balancing on a rattling ladder, in the midst of fervently fixing a faulty chandelier, while Faress (his loyal all-round helper) would be clinging onto the ladder, trying desperately to balance it and begging in the most panicked tone to let him do it. But as always, Papi just HAD to do it himself. I believe I get my stubbornness and intense resistance to delegating from him.

This dish is one of my mother’s specialties. One of those recipes that she got asked for over and over again, and that kept making reappearances in almost every event we hosted. She would, of course, always comply and insist that it is “OH SO easy” (which is one thing I definitely picked up from her).

The tanginess from the yoghurt marinade pairs wonderfully with the spiciness of the tandoori paste and slightly cools it down. My mother used to serve it with yellow spiced rice, but I find the fragrant blandness of jasmine rice to be a much better accompaniment to the rich, aromatic creaminess of the sauce. The recipe calls for a small amount of pure cream, which I think finishes it off beautifully, however if you want a lighter option you may replace the cream with an equal amount of stock or even coconut milk would work well.

TANDOORI CHICKEN

prep time: 10min                              cook time: 20min                                     total time: 30min

servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 800g boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 200g natural or greek yoghurt
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• juice of half a lemon (large)
• 4 heaped tbsp tandoori paste
• 200ml pure cream
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp honey
• salt & pepper

Instructions

• Cut the chicken into cubes (not too small, about 4-5cm). Place in a bowl with the yoghurt, garlic, lemon juice and tandoori paste. Mix well, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour or overnight.
• In a large non-stick pan on high heat, melt 1tbsp ghee. When the pan is quite hot, add the chicken in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan (pick up the chicken pieces from the marinade with tongs and shake off excess before placing in pan) and cook for 3-4minutes, turning halfway, until slightly browned. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Repeat until all chicken is cooked.
• Pour the cream into the pan and stir to get all the flavours incorporated.
• Return the chicken to the pan. Add the honey. Taste and adjust seasoning. Simmer for a couple of minutes then serve with steamed jasmine rice immediately.

Notes

For a lighter version, replace the cream with equal amount of stock or coconut milk.
You may also use boneless skinless chicken thigh if you prefer, just make sure to adjust cooking time.