Moroccan Leg Of Lamb Recipes

MOROCCAN MECHOUI (SLOW ROASTED LEG OF LAMB OR SHOULDER)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Trim excess fat from leg of lamb or shoulder, and make a dozen or more deep cuts into meat with tip of a sharp knife.
• Combine butter with garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, saffron, turmeric, and olive oil. Spread mixture over entire leg or shoulder of lamb, working some butter into incisions made with knife.
• Place lamb in a roasting pan, and proceed with one of the roasting methods below. Very Slow-Roasting Method: 7 1/2 to 9 Hours This is the preferred Marrakesh method. You can reduce the cooking time to 4 to 5 hours by using a 350 F/180 C oven temperature.
• Preheat oven to 250 F.
• Place lamb in a roasting pan and cover with foil, sealing edges tightly. Roast lamb, basting hourly and resealing foil each time, for 7 to 8 hours, or until juices run clear and meat is tender enough to pinch off the bone.
• Small pieces of lamb, weighing less than 4 pounds might finish cooking in 6 hours. Larger pieces might take closer to 9 hours.
• Remove foil and increase oven temperature to 475 F. Brown lamb, basting frequently, for 15 to 30 minutes, or until meat is well-colored.
• Transfer lamb to a platter and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before serving. If desired, pour juices over and around lamb. Serve dishes of salt and cumin on the side for dipping. Traditional Roasting Method: 3 to 4 Hours When short on time, this method also works well, but the meat won't be quite as tender as the above method. The lamb will, however, have more of a crisp crust, which some Moroccans find desirable.
• Heat oven to 475 F. Add 1/2 cup of water to pan, and roast lamb, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325 F and continue roasting lamb, basting occasionally, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until meat is tender, juices run clear, and lamb has a dark, crisp crust.
• Transfer lamb to a platter and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before serving. If desired, juices can be poured over and around lamb. Serve dishes of salt and cumin on the side for dipping. Fast Roasting Method: 1 to 2 Hours
• Preheat oven to 475 F. Wrap exposed lower leg of the lamb in foil to prevent burning. Add 1/2 cup of water and a few tablespoons of olive oil to pan, and roast lamb, uncovered, for 1 to 2 hours, basting frequently, until lamb is well browned and juices run clear when a knife is inserted deep into meat.
• If meat has browned before juices are clear, cover meat with loose foil to prevent further darkening.
• Transfer lamb to a platter and allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. If desired, juices can be poured over and around lamb. Serve dishes of salt and cumin on the side for dipping.

MOROCCAN LEG OF LAMB WITH MINT DRESSING

Steps:

• Score meaty side of lamb in a diamond pattern of 1/4-inch-deep cuts about 1 1/2 inches apart. Season with salt and pepper, and place scored-side up in a large roasting pan.
• In a small bowl, whisk olive oil with lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, harissa, coriander seeds and cumin. Pour marinade over lamb and massage into crevices. Cover pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate 2 1/2 hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 1 1/2 hours before cooking to return lamb to room temperature; in last 15 minutes, heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Remove foil from pan and place pan on middle oven rack; turn heat down to 350 degrees. Roast, basting lamb with pan juices every 1/2 hour, until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat reads 130 degrees, about 1 3/4 hours total. Remove from oven, tent loosely with foil, and let rest 15 minutes before carving. Serve with harissa and mint dressing.

MOROCCAN SLOW-COOKED LAMB

Steps:

• Mix first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Add lamb and toss to coat. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add lamb to skillet and cook until browned on all sides, turning occasionally and adding 2 more tablespoons oil to skillet between batches, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer lamb to another large bowl after each batch.
• Add onion and tomato paste to drippings in skillet. Reduce heat to medium; sauté until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add broth, garbanzo beans, apricots, tomatoes, cinnamon sticks, ginger, and lemon peel and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Return lamb to skillet and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until lamb is just tender, about 1 hour. Uncover and simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat spoon, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.)
• Transfer lamb and sauce to bowl. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

MOROCCAN-STYLE BARBECUED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Mix the butter and oil in a bowl, then stir in the spices, thyme, garlic, lemon zest and juice. Add the harissa, 1 tsp salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, and mix well.
• Put the butterflied lamb (see step-by-step guide) in a large shallow dish and spoon over the marinade. Using your hands, rub it all over the meat. Cover loosely with foil or cling film and leave to marinate for at least 2 hrs, or overnight in the fridge.
• Light the barbecue, adding plenty of coals. When it is ready, add the lamb, fat-side down, and cook on a fairly high heat for 5 mins until well browned. Turn over and cook for another 5 mins to brown the other side.
• Move the coals to the sides of the barbecue to reduce the heat under the meat and cook more gently for 30-40 mins, turning occasionally. This timing will give you pink meat.
• Remove the meat to a large board and cover tightly with foil. Leave to rest for 10-15 mins.
• For the sauce, fold the harissa, a little salt and the coriander into the yogurt. Cut the lamb into thick slices and serve with the sauce and couscous, if you like.

MOROCCAN ROAST LAMB WITH ROASTED ROOTS & CORIANDER

Steps:

• Take the lamb out of the fridge while you chop the onions, squash and celeriac. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Trim any excess fat off the leg of lamb, then cut a few slashes into the meat. Rub ½ tbsp oil and 1 tbsp ras el hanout over the lamb and season with salt and pepper. Put the onion, celeriac, butternut squash into a large roasting tin with the garlic. Toss with the remaining ras el hanout, remaining oil and some salt and pepper. Nestle the lamb into the tin and put in the oven to roast for 40 mins.
• Take the lamb out of the oven and leave to rest. Put the veg back in the oven for 20 mins. Meanwhile, blitz the coriander, cumin seeds, lemon zest, lemon juice and green chilli together in a mini food processor until finely chopped and vivid green.
• Carve the lamb, put on a platter, then pile on the veg. Sprinkle over some of the coriander mixture before taking the platter to the table for everyone to help themselves.

MOROCCAN BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Make the paste: In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, toast the coriander seeds, peppercorns and cloves. Shake the pan occasionally, until the spices begin to smoke, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a mortar or spice grinder and grind. Transfer to a small bowl and mix in the garlic, orange zest, salt and olive oil.
• Spread the leg of lamb flat. Trim the excess fat and sinew from the inside and the outside. With the fat side facing down, use a sharp knife to make several horizontal slits at a 45 degree angle into the thickest parts of the lamb, until the meat is of even thickness. With a meat mallet, pound the lamb to an even thinness of about 1 1/2 inches.
• Spread the spice paste evenly over both sides of the lamb. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or as long as 8 hours.
• Grill the lamb, fat side down first, directly over medium heat, turning once. The lamb will take 15-25 minutes to reach medium rare.
• Remove the lamb from the grill and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Carve the meat on a slight diagonal across the grain. Serve warm.

ROAST LEG OF LAMB WITH MOROCCAN MARINADE

Steps:

• Trim excess fat from leg of lamb. Make shallow incisions into the leg and insert a garlic sliver in each.
• Combine the spices with oil, lemon juice, minced garlic and fresh coriander to make a paste. Rub the paste over the lamb, place it in a roasting pan, cover and let stand 3 to 4 hours in a cool place or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Preheat oven 350 degrees. Roast leg of lamb to the desired degree of doneness, basting once or twice during roasting. After about one hour and 10 minutes, internal temperature should be 120 to 125 degrees, medium rare. Allow to rest 10 minutes before carving. Juices can be used to make a gravy if desired. To do so pour fat from roasting pan, add the boiling water and, scraping the pan, cook over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes. Strain into a sauceboat.

MOROCCAN RIB ROAST OR LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Stir together coriander seed, lemon peel, olive oil, cumin, red pepper, and salt in a small bowl.
• Rub surface of rib roast thouroughly with coriander mixture.
• Cut 1/2 inch wide slits randomly into top and sides of roast.
• Insert garlic slivers deep into slits.
• Cover and refrigerate roast for up 24 hours, if desired.
• Prepare grill for indirect grilling.
• Test for medium heat above the drip pan.
• Place roast on the lightly oiled grill rack over drip pan.
• Cover and grill for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until an instant read thermoter inserted into the centre of the roast registers 155f degrees for medium doneness.
• Add assorted cut up veggies to grill during the last 45 minutes of cooking, removing setting them aside as they become tender.
• Carve rib roast and serve with grilled veggies.
• If using a leg of lamb, grill for 2 to 3 hours or until thermometer reads 155f degrees for medium doneness.
• Either beef or lamb roast may also be cooked in the oven at 400f degrees until thermometer reads 155f degrees for medium doneness, for approximately the same number of hours.
• Add veggies to the oven rack outside the roasting pan for about the last hour of cooking.
• Serve with roast.

MOROCCAN LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat the grill to medium-high. Open out the butterflied leg of lamb on your work surface so the inside is up and season with salt and pepper. Set aside while you prepare the spice butter. Combine the butter, garlic, mint leaves, parsley, horseradish, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, oregano, coriander, paprika, and cumin in a food processor and process to a smooth paste. When ready to cook, spread about one third of the butter mixture over the inside of the lamb. Spread about 1 tablespoon more over the outside surface of the lamb. Arrange the lamb, outer side down on the hot grate and grill, turning with tongs, until cooked to taste, approximately 10 minutes per side for rare lamb. If the lamb starts to burn, lower the heat to medium (if gas) or move the lamb to a cooler section of the grill. (if charcoal.) Every 5 minutes, spread the top with some of the remaining butter. Transfer the lamb to a cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve the lamb with the sauces or tiny bowls of salt and cumin, if desired, on the side for seasoning.