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Barbecued lamb from 'Relax it's only food' |
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| barbecued
leg of lamb |
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| 1 leg of
lamb 2 lemons salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary 250 ml yoghurt 2 red chillies handful of coriander 2 cloves garlic 1 tablespoon cinnamon ½ tablespoon of cardamom, cloves and turmeric |
Barbecued Lamb A leg of lamb roasted on a barbecue in Corsica or on a beach in Greece, or in your garden with friends on a hot day, tastes totally different from a leg of lamb roasted in the oven on a rainy Sunday in North London, partly because we treat it differently. In winter I want to serve lamb with roast potatoes and vegetables and good gravy, but in summer a leg of lamb speaks to me of clay ovens or coals, of marinades made with yoghurt, lemon juice and herbs and spices, and side dishes of spicy aubergine bab ganoush or imam bayildi, and tabbouleh - bulgar wheat with masses of mint and parsley and lemon juice | |
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| One of my favourite dishes
is ~Barbecued Lamb Marinated in
Yoghurt. You first need to tenderize the lamb by rubbing it with a mixture
of the juice of 2 lemons, a tablespoon of salt and a handful of thyme
leaves, then leave it for a few hours. Then you need around 250ml
yoghurt, to which you add a paste made by blitzing in a food processor 2
deseeded and chopped red chillies, a handful of chopped coriander, 2
chopped garlic cloves, a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black
pepper, together with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and half a tablespoon
each of cardamom, cloves and turmeric, all dry roasted in a pan
(alternatively you could flavour the yoghurt with some ground cumin or
garam masala, first toasted briefly in a dry pan to release their
aroma). Rub the marinade into the lamb all over. Leave overnight before barbequing with some big sprigs of rosemary, preferably straight from the garden, so that it has that beautiful oily freshness that is often lost in the thin, lavender-smelling - usually forced - herb packaged for supermarkets. If you haven't got any in the garden, take a walk around the neighbourhood with a pair of scissors, because someone is bound to have some in the front garden and will let you have a little if you ask nicely. If you plant some young shoots straight in the ground or a pot on a windowsill, a number of them will take in spring. Barbecue the lamb for about 30 minutes for quite pink meat, then finish with lemon juice and leave to rest for about 30 minutes before slicing it. Serve it with chunks of Greek-style flat bread and ~Tzatziki - yoghurt mixed with sliced cucumber, some chopped mint, a pinch of salt and a good squeeze of lemon juice. You could also barbecue some Greek or Cypriot lamb sausages - really dense, full of cumin and paprika and garlic - or merguez, or put out some cured chorizo. I love sausages, in any shape or form. I think they are God's own food. |
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The recipe above is taken from Relax - It's Only Food by John Torode with Sheila Keating. John has also written ‘The Mezzo Cookbook’ and ‘Torode’s Thai Trek’, all of his books are available to buy from amazon.co.uk John Torode also has a fantastic restaurant in London called Smiths of Smithfield where he uses Somerset Farm Direct lamb and mutton (tel: 0207 2517950, or visit www.smithsofsmithfield.co.uk) Smiths of Smithfield |
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