Shawarma is a way of preparing and cooking meat in the Eastern Mediterranean, but not so far west as Arabian countries. With this method, marinated chicken, beef or lamb is skewered and slow-cooked over a spit. Now, most of us don’t have a spit at home (if you did, you probably wouldn’t need this recipe), but surprisingly, an authentic shawarma flavour can be achieved easily enough in your own oven. This is a dish that will easily stand up to a dark ale.
Ingredients
- 1 boned lamb leg about 2 kg (4 lb 8 oz) skin on
- flatbread, salad leaves, yoghurt and lemon wedges to serve
Spice Paste
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
- 1 cinnamon stick broken into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 bunch coriander (cilantro) finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 fl oz/¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil
How to Make It
- Start by making the spice paste. Heat a small frying pan over high heat. Add the cumin, peppercorns and cinnamon. Shake the pan and cook for just a few seconds, until the spices smoke and pop.
- Tip into a bowl and stir in the paprika, ginger and salt. Allow to cool, then grind the spices to a rough powder, using a spice mill or a mortar and pestle. Stir in the coriander, garlic and oil to make a paste. Rub the paste all over the lamb and refrigerate for 6 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Sit the lamb, skin side up, in a roasting tin. Roast for 20 minutes, by which time the spice rub will be aromatic.
- Add 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) cold water to the tin, pouring it all around the lamb, not over it (you don’t want to wash off the seasonings). Cover the tin firmly with a couple of layers of foil. Turn the oven down to 150°C (300°F) and bake for 4 hours, or until the lamb is fall-apart tender.
- Remove the lamb from the oven. Leave covered for 20–30 minutes, to rest and cool slightly. Shred the lamb using tongs or forks, or serve it in large chunks, wrapped in flatbread, with salad leaves, yoghurt and lemon wedges.