Slow-cooked lamb with pomegranates and honey
Easy, but rich and exotic - a real feast for a long, lazy weekend lunch or dinner. The lamb should be very soft, almost falling apart, so start checking it after four hours to see if it needs to cook longer.
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
For the lamb
To serve
Method
Step 1
Pierce deep holes all over the lamb. In a mortar, make a marinade: crush the garlic to a paste with the salt, then add the other ingredients, starting with the mint, and pound some more.
Step 2
Line a roasting tin with two large pieces of foil, making a cross, and place the lamb on top. Pull up the sides so none of the marinade will run out. Pour on the mari- nade, turning the lamb over to coat it. Cover and put in the fridge for about 12 hours.
Step 3
Return the lamb to room temperature and heat the oven to 200°C/fan oven 180°C/mark 6. Pull the foil over the lamb and seal to form a tent. Place in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 160°C/fan oven 140°C/gas mark 3. Cook for four to five hours, basting with the juices every so often. The lamb is cooked when you can pull the meat apart with a fork.
Step 4
Mix the pomegranate seeds with the mint, then add the garlic to the yogurt. Shred the lamb at the table and serve with the yogurt, pomegranate and mint, plus flatbreads or couscous and a salad.
