Slow-roast Persian lamb with pomegranate salad

Slow-roast Persian lamb with pomegranate salad

By Barney Desmazery
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(31 ratings)
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Prep: 20 mins Cook: 3 hrs, 30 mins

Easy

Serves 6
This sweet, meltingly-tender lamb makes a show-stopping dinner party dish

Nutrition and extra info

Nutrition:

  • kcal554
  • fat39g
  • saturates18g
  • carbs15g
  • sugars13g
  • fibre2g
  • protein37g
  • salt0.35g
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Ingredients

    For the lamb

    • 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
    • 1 tsp ground cumin
      Cumin

      Cumin

      q-min

      An aromatic spice native to eastern Mediteranean countries and Upper Egypt. This warm,…

    • juice 1 lemon
      Lemon

      Lemon

      le-mon

      Oval in shape, with a pronouced bulge on one end, lemons are one of the most versatile fruits…

    • 1 tbsp olive oil
      olive oil

      Olive oil

      ol-iv oyl

      Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…

    • 2 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 onion, roughly chopped
      Onion

      Onion

      un-yun

      Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…

    • 1 shoulder of lamb, weighing about 1.6kg, lightly scored
      Lamb

      Lamb

      laam

      A lamb is a sheep that is under one year old, and is known for its delicate flavour and tender…

    For the salad

    • seeds 2 pomegranates
      Pomegranate

      Pomegranate

      pom-ee-gran-at

      Now mainly grown in America, Spain, the Middle East and India, pomegranates originated in the…

    • handful flat-leaf parsley leaves
      Parsley

      Parsley

      par-slee

      One of the most ubiquitous herbs in British cookery, parsley is also popular in European and…

    • 100g bag watercress
      Watercress

      Watercress

      wort-er-cress

      With deep green leaves, and crisp, paler stems, watercress is related to mustard and is one of…

    • 1 small red onion, finely diced
    • 1 tbsp olive oil
      olive oil

      Olive oil

      ol-iv oyl

      Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…

    • flatbreads, to serve

    Method

    1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. In a small bowl, mix the molasses with the cumin, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Scatter the onion over a casserole dish or a deep roasting tin. Place the lamb on top of the onions. Pour the glaze over the lamb. Rinse the bowl out with about 200ml water, then pour it around – not over – the lamb.

    2. Cover the dish with a lid or the tin with a large piece of foil. Roast the lamb, undisturbed, for 3 hrs, then remove the lid or foil and continue to roast for 30 mins to give the lamb colour. When the lamb has had its time, pour off the juices, remove as much fat as possible, then pour the juices back over the lamb.

    3. Just before serving, gently toss all the salad ingredients together. Serve the lamb with its sauce, the salad and some warmed flatbreads.

    • Recipe Tip

      Jewelled couscous

      Cook 200g couscous and mix with 150g pomegranate seeds, a chopped handful mint, the juice 1 orange and 2 tbsp each olive oil and white wine vinegar. Serves 4.

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    Comments, questions and tips

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    burbles
    21st May, 2017
    5.05
    Best lamb I've ever cooked.
    stelaholder's picture
    stelaholder
    12th Apr, 2015
    5.05
    Great flavours. I put a tablespoon of honey on lamb for the last 30 mins when I uncovered it. I served it with home made houmous, Turkish tomato salad (gavurdagi salatasi), pickled onion and Maast O Khiar (yoghurt, cucumber and mint). Delicious
    africanqueen's picture
    africanqueen
    9th Apr, 2015
    5.05
    I cooked this for the family on Easter Sunday, whilst it was cooking we spent time enjoying a fabulous walk in the Cheviot hills, Northumberland. We arrived home to a wonderful aroma and as the new potatoes were cooking I made the salad, everything went down a storm. It was such a hassle free and delicious meal with a massive thumbs up from the whole family :-)
    melpoolie
    17th Jan, 2015
    5.05
    I used leg of lamb (as it's less fatty) and as I couldn't get pomegranate molasses, some black treacle and honey but it was still wonderful!
    Zajhbfemme
    23rd Nov, 2014
    I made this for my mums birthday. It was oh so easy and cooked to perfection per the instructions. I would suggest marinating overnight perhaps to enhance flavour.
    catkins62
    27th Sep, 2014
    5.05
    Cooked this for dinner for friends. Absolutely delicious. Slight mix up @ butcher's meant I ended up with boned shoulder of lamb but it still worked.Served with jewelled couscous and a green salad with avocado + orange segments. Just as good reheated next day. As per previous comments do make extra as seconds will be eaten :)
    anniehine
    18th Sep, 2014
    I cooked this with the jewelled couscous (I added pomegranite seeds, chopped mint, parsley, pistachios and lemon juice) for my family last night and it was absolutely delicious. Would highly recommend it for dinner parties as you can make the couscous ages in advance and the prep for the lamb itself takes literally minutes. Not sure if my oven is a bit hot but I took the lid off after 2.5 hours and it was perfect. I took the lamb out and added about a cupful of boiling water to the sticky glaze as there really wasnt much moisture left, served with flatbreads, yogurt and the couscous. Delicious!
    kathryndonna's picture
    kathryndonna
    7th Sep, 2014
    3.8
    Beautifully cooked, meltingly tender lamb that just fell apart. I served it with potatoes and butternut squash roasted in chilli oil and a mix of courgettes, green beans and carrot ribbons, whole almonds, pomegranate seeds and some chopped mint. I had to improvise with a sauce though as by the time the lamb was cooked the remains of the marinade were too burnt to use.
    lizleicester
    6th Apr, 2014
    3.8
    Just did the salad because I slow cooked the lamb following another recipe on this site. Really like the flat breads with the lamb.
    marinah
    27th Mar, 2014
    5.05
    This is a show stopper and so easy which gives you time with your guests. I used a leg of lamb and put the leg on halved onions, poured pomegranate juice over the lamb and then sealed in foil and cooked for 4 hours as I couldn't get the molasses. DELICIOUS and every guest asked for more

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    Zajhbfemme
    16th Nov, 2014
    Hi. Could I use this marinade with lamb chops? Also please advise a substitute for white wine vinegar? Thanks
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