Irish Spiced Lamb Recipes

Steps:

• Stir together the marinade ingredients and season with ½ tsp ground black pepper and 1½ tsp flaky salt. Slash the lamb several times on both sides, then massage the marinade all over it. Seal into a large food bag or non-metallic container and chill overnight (or at least for a few hrs). Let the lamb sit at room temperature for 1 hr before roasting.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the lamb into a foil-lined roasting tin and roast for 20 mins. Turn the oven down to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and roast for 1 hr 20 mins for meat that's pink near the bone. Cover loosely with foil halfway through cooking or once the marinade has charred and the meat looks golden.
• Leave the lamb to rest for 20 mins before carving, then serve with lentil & tomato and cucumber salads (see related recipes).

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grind all of the spices and herbs in a spice mill until finely ground. Mix together the spice mixture, garlic paste, mustard and honey. Set aside.
• Cut 8 to 12 1/4-inch-deep slices, 1 inch apart, across the top of the leg. Rub the spice paste into the slices and all over the top. Put the leg, seasoned side up, on a rack over a large roasting pan and place in oven. After 50 minutes start testing for doneness by inserting a meat thermometer in the large end of the leg. The thermometer should read 125 degrees for rare meat, or 130 degrees for medium rare. Season the lamb with salt and let it rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.

Steps:

• Preheat broiler. In a large bowl, mix together the onion, cream, egg yolks, cinnamon, cumin, red pepper and cayenne. Put the lamb in the bowl, and season it aggressively with salt and pepper. Add the bread crumbs and parsley, and combine the mixture well. Shape the meat into balls that are a little larger than golf balls.
• Grease a baking pan with olive oil, and put the meatballs onto it, spaced evenly. Place beneath the broiler, and cook, turning once or twice, until the meatballs are well browned, approximately 5 to 7 minutes, then set meatballs aside. Turn oven to 400.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce. Pass the tomatoes through a food mill, or whizz them quickly in a food processor. Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat for a minute, then add olive oil, rosemary and red pepper and shake to combine. Cook for another minute, then add onion, thyme, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne and bay leaf and sauté until the onions are translucent, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, orange juice and peel, along with salt and pepper.
• Cook for 8 to 10 minutes over medium-low heat, until reduced by a third. Adjust seasoning.
• Pour the tomato sauce into a large baking dish that you can put on the table. Transfer the meatballs to the sauce, putting them about ½ inch from each other. Bake for 15 or 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the meatballs are cooked through.
• Top with crumbled feta and scattered mint.

Steps:

• Pat lamb dry and season well with salt and pepper. Put oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Brown meat on all sides, working in batches.
• Set meat aside and add onions and carrots to pot. Season with salt and pepper. Cook vegetables, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Return meat to pot, add broth and bring to a simmer. Put in thyme sprig and arrange potatoes on top (it's fine if potatoes are not completely submerged). Season potatoes, cover pot and transfer to oven.
• Bake for about 1 hour, until lamb is quite tender when probed with a skewer or paring knife. Remove fat from top of broth. Ladle stew into shallow bowls and serve.