Saudi Arabian Slow Cooked Lamb Recipes

LAMB SHAWARMA

Steps:

• Place the yogurt, water, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, onion, and garlic into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the salt, black pepper, cumin, nutmeg, clove, mace, and cayenne pepper until evenly blended. Mix in the lamb strips to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and marinate in the refrigerator 12 to 24 hours (the longer the better).
• Heat a large skillet over high heat. Cook the lamb strips in a single layer in batches until the fat melts and the meat has browned and is no longer pink on the inside, about 5 minutes, turning occasionally.

ARABIAN ROAST LAMB FIT FOR A KING AND QUEEN, WITH SPICED RICE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425F degrees. Wash and trim the lamb of any excess fat, and pat dry with a clean cloth.
• Rub the leg of lamb all over with the spices, salt, pepper, and oil. Place it in a large roasting pan and put it into the preheated oven. After 20 minutes, take the pan out of the oven, pour in 4 1/4 cups water, and add the onion and garlic. Cover the meat with a large sheet of foil and put it back in the oven. Lower the heat to 300F degrees, and cook for 3 hours.
• While the meat is cooking, prepare the rice. Wash the rice in cold water, rinse in a fine mesh strainer under cold running water, and drain. In a large pan, fry the onion in 2 tablespoons oil until it is soft and beginning to color. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring, turning it over and crushing it with a fork to break up any lumps, until it has changed color. Add salt and pepper and all the spices: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. Stir well and add the rice, then stir again.
• Pour in the boiling stock, mix well, and simmer, covered, for about 10 to 20 minutes until the rice is tender. Add a little stock or water if it becomes too dry. Drain (if necessary) and keep it on the side until you are ready to serve.
• Fry the almonds, pistachios, and pine nuts separately in the remaining oil until they just begin to color. When the leg of lamb is ready, place it on a serving dish with the rice. You can cut the meat off the bone into slices, if you wish. Sprinkle the fried nuts all over the rice. Serve the flavorsome meat broth produced at the bottom of the roasting pan as a sauce. Heat it through and serve it in a jug, first pouring off as much of the fat from the top as you can.

SAUDI ARABIAN SLOW-COOKED LAMB

Steps:

• Heat 1/4 cup of the canola oil in a pan, add the onions and sautee until transparent. Add the meat, 2 teaspoons of salt and saudi spices and cook until the meat is brown.
• Add the boiling water, bring to a boil. Skim the foam from the top, reduce heat to medium-low and cover.
• Simmer until the meat is tender. About 2 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 250 degrees farenheit.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a baking dish. Season it with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, cover with foil and place in the oven to keep warm. Keep the stock.
• Heat the remaining 1/4 cup of goil and the butter in a large pot over high heat. Add the carrots, peppers, peas, tomatoes, remaining onions, garlic, saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, salt and white pepper. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft.
• Add the rice into the vegetables, and stir until well incorporated. Add the hot stock to the rice mixture, bring to a boil, cover and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook for 15 minutes.
• Give the rice mixture a quick stir. Taste, and adjust the seasoning if needed. Slide a heat diffuser under the pot and lower the heat to the lowest setting. Cook until the rice is fluffy, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat.
• To serve, put the rice on a serving dish, piling it high in the center. Arrange the meat on top and garnish with the nuts and raisins.
• Serve with daqoos (you can find recipes for this on food.com). I will add my recipe for this later.

SLOW-COOKED GREEK LAMB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and sit a shelf as low as possible. Pierce the lamb all over with a small knife, then fill each slit with a garlic clove and half an anchovy fillet. Rub all over with the oil, then season.
• Heat a flameproof casserole dish and sear the lamb all over until well browned. Take off the heat, remove the lamb from the dish and tip in the tomatoes, carrots, sage and rosemary. Sit the lamb on top and scatter over the thyme.
• Cover the dish, slip it onto the bottom shelf of the oven and cook for 4-5 hrs until pull-apart tender. Carefully lift the lamb from the dish, discard the herbs and roughly squash the tomatoes into the juices. Sit the lamb back in the dish and serve in big shredded chunks with tzatziki, chickpea salad and flatbreads for mopping up the juices.