Slow-Cooked Moroccan Leg of lamb with all the trimmings is what long lazy lunches are all about. A meal full of flavors, textures and interesting little bites – a feast and it takes very little effort to prepare.

Slow-Cooked Moroccan Leg of lamb is full of bold flavors, cumin, ginger, coriander and smoked paprika. The secret however is the cooking method. Low and very slow. It does not matter if it is 3 or 4 hours, the longer the better. What you want is fork tender, fall off the bone tender meat. Juice and a little fatty.Other cuts of meat that can also work for this are lamb shanks or lamb shoulder. (speak to your butcher)

A leg of lamb is a pricey item. Unless you buy a whole lamb and have it cut up in portions, buying a leg of lamb for Sunday roast is expensive. Whenever I buy a whole lamb, I feel rich in the knowing that I have two Sunday lunches sorted out. Traditionally in our house, leg of lamb was served with sweet potato, roast potatoes, green beans and spicy rice. Of course a gravy boat was always a necessity.

So this feast is a little different. The side dishes to this feast are bowls of hummus, minty yogurt, fresh herbs, a salad with roasted vegetables of your choice and of course garlicky pita breads.

Cook’s Note – I always serve this meal with warm serviettes with a little lemon juice drizzled over them. This is a conversational meal, hands-on so expect lots of sticky fingers, chatting and laughter. Exactly what we all need right now.

Slow-Cooked Moroccan Leg of lamb

serves 6-8 people

Ingredients

3 kg leg of lamb

3 T/ 45 ml olive oil

6- 8 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in slivers

2 t / 10 ml t ground cumin

1½ t / 7 ml ground ginger

3 t/ 15 ml coarsely ground coriander

2 t / 10 ml smoked paprika

1 t / 5 ml ground turmeric

1 t / 5 ml ground pepper

1/2 t cayenne pepper

2 T/ 30 ml salt

handful fresh mint or coriander

1 cup/ 250 ml red wine or stock

1 cup roasted onion braai sauce – I used Forage and Feast

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the leg of lamb skin-side up in a large roasting tin.
Using a sharp knife, make small but deep incisions all over the lamb and stuff the slivers of garlic in the incisions. Mix the olive oil, cumin, ginger, coriander, smoked paprika, turmeric, black pepper, cayenne pepper and salt together in a small bowl until well combined. Spread the oil mixture all over the meat, making sure you work it into the incisions. Pour in the water or the wine.

Cover the tray with kitchen foil or use the lid of the casserole if it has one. Roast the lamb for 11/2 hours at 180 C. Reduce the heat to 120 C and roast for another 3 hours, basting the meat every hour with the juices in the tray. Remove the foil, pour over the braai sauce and and roast the lamb for a further 15-20 minutes, or until the skin is sauce is sticky and the meat is tender and falling off the bone.
Cover the lamb lightly with kitchen foil and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
When the lamb has rested, use two forks to shred the meat. Garnish the meat with chopped mint or coriander serve immediately with warm pitas, yogurt and salad.

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