Spiced Christmas Lamb

Name: Spiced Christmas Lamb
Cook time: PT4-5 HoursM
Yield: Feeds 4 serving(s)

4-5 Hours

Feeds 4

Introducing Spiced Christmas Lamb – a festive dish that brings bold, aromatic flavours to your holiday table. This succulent lamb is coated in a fragrant blend of spices, creating a perfect balance of heat and warmth. Roasted to perfection, it’s tender, juicy, and guaranteed to be the star of your Christmas feast. I’ve made this Spiced Christmas Lamb three times in the past week for every Christmas dinner I’ve hosted, and it’s been a huge hit! If you’d rather not cook it overnight, you can also roast it at 150°C for 4-5 hours. Plus, if you don’t have whole spices on hand, you can easily substitute with ground spices instead!

Ingredients

1 Lamb Leg (mine was 2.7kg) or Shoulder

5 Green Chillies

10 Cloves Garlic

4cm Knob Ginger

1 Onion

2 Tsp Flakey Salt

1 Cinnamon Stick

5 Cardamon Pods

1 Tsp Black Pepper

4 Cloves

2 Dried Limes

1 Tsp Chilli Flakes

1 Tsp Cumin Seeds

30g Walnuts

4 Tbsp Pomegranate Molasses

4 Tbsp Olive Oil or Melted Butter

1 Orange Zest And Juice Of Half (Keep The Other Half To Roast In The Oven)

200g Shallots

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

A Bunch of Mint

A Bunch of Coriander

A Bunch of Parsley

1 Tbsp Coriander seeds

Small Handful Pomegranate Seeds

Step 1

Char the chillies, garlic, ginger and onion on the hob so it's charred (skip this if you don't have a gas burner!) Toast the walnuts.

Step 2

Blitz up the remaining whole spices, Add the aromatics and flakey salt to a pestle and mortar, and bash to form a thick paste.

Step 3

Add the spices and walnuts and continue to bash. Then add in the molasses, olive oil and orange zest and juice

Step 4

Cut deep gashes into your lamb and spread over the spice rub. Add to a baking tray with your shallots and remaining orange. Pour in 500ml of water and cover tightly with foil.

Step 5

Bake in the oven at 100C for 10-12 hours, checking halfway to ensure there is plenty of liquid at the bottom of the pan.

Step 6

Meanwhile pick all the leaves off your herbs, careful not to have too many stems.

Step 7

Take the lamb and shallots out of the tray and onto your serving platter and wrap in foil to keep warm.

Step 8

For the gravy melt the butter in a pan and whisk in the flour. Cook for 2 mins then slowly drizzle in the lamb juices. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, season with salt.

Step 9

Heat up about 5 inches of vegetable oil in a pot to medium heat. Fry the herbs for 60 secs one at a time, standing well back as soon as they go into the hot oil because they will splatter furiously. Fry the coriander seeds. Allow them all to drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt (and a pinch of msg if you want!)

Step 10

Pour a ladle of gravy over the lamb, sprinkle with the crispy herbs and pomegranate and serve.