Rotisserie Lamb and Pasta

Click the arrow above to see a short movie of our lamb cooking

Robert and Darryl joined us for our 2^nd experiment with the rotisserie. This time we decided to rotisserie lamb, and have potatoes cook underneath them, constantly being marinated by the drippings from the lamb.

We had eaten a wonderful dinner at Mozza and Nancy said she had just made the most incredible Lamb Shawarma recipe. It was from Ottolenghi and Tamimi new cookbook: Jerusalem. We thought that we would use this recipe. It is a winner. The lamb was perfect. Although the lamb recipe calls for cooking in the oven, we simply put the lamb on the skewer and used the rotisserie. Once again, it took longer than I expected to cook the lamb and a meat thermometer was a necessity. I did realize afterwards that I probably should cover the rotisserie when it is running to raise the temperature and get more of a smoky flavor.

We started with cheese from the Cheese Store of Silverlake.

Robert brought over Gnocchi and cooked it at our house as a first course it was very light and the tomato sauce was excellent. We loved it. He also brought a Cucumber Salad as side dish for the lamb.

Dessert was Chocolate Chip cookies and Ice Cream. This was a very special dinner. The lamb looks intimidating but it isn’t. Just follow the directions!

Lamb Shawarma

Jerusalem

Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi

2 tsp black peppercorns

5 cloves

½ tsp cardamom pods

¼ tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 star anise

½ a cinnamon stick

½ a nutmeg, grated

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp sweet paprika

1 tbsp sumac

¾ tbsp Maldon sea salt

25g fresh ginger, gratedn (we left out)

3 garlic cloves, crushed

40g chopped coriander, stems and leaves

60ml lemon juice

120ml groundnut oil

1 leg of lamb, with the bone, about 2.5-3kg

Jerusalem proudly boasts its own indigenous Hebrew vocabulary, made up of random words that substitute the common names for words like liquorice, piggyback, lollypop and others. The flatbread referred to in the city as 'esh tanur' (burning furnace) is the carb of choice for encasing shawarma, slices of spiced meat and fat arranged on a large spit that rotates continuously near a hot grill, regularly 'shaved' with a large knife for passing customers. As well as meat, the flatbread includes chopped salad, tahini, fries, pickles and amba, a mango and fenugreek sauce originally from India that has been adopted into the Jewish version of shawarma via Iraqi immigrants.

Sami remembers that when he was growing up going for shawarma was a bit of a luxury, as it was quite expensive. In Arab shops it was sold in a pita with a condiment of onion marinated with salt and sumac. The fries had to be good!

This is hardly a proper shawarma recipe. But then again, we wouldn't expect most readers to have a vertical rotating skewer at home. Still, the marinated lamb leg ends up tasting close enough to the real thing, which is as common and popular in Jerusalem as it is anywhere else in the Middle East.

The first 11 ingredients, also known as Lebanese spice mix (similar to the Yemenite hawayej , make a versatile mixture that can be used to marinate fish, meat or root vegetables before roasting or grilling. You can double their quantity and keep half in a sealed jar for up to three weeks. If you don't have a spice grinder you can use a pestle and mortar to make this mix, but you would need to substitute ground cinnamon for cinnamon sticks, cardamom powder for pods and leave out the star anise.

Always serve the shawarma with fresh cucumber and tomato salad, dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and chopped parsley or coriander. It really needs the freshness and moisture. On top of that, you can serve rice or bulgar and/or Tahini sauce. If you wish, you can add some peeled waxy potatoes to the roasting tin about 90 minutes before the lamb is ready, and toss them in the cooking liquids every now and then.

Put the first 8 ingredients in a cast-iron pan and dry-roast on medium-high heat for a minute or two, until the spices begin to pop and release their aromas. Take care not to burn them. Add the nutmeg, ginger and paprika, toss for a few more seconds, just to heat them, then transfer to a spice grinder. Process the spices to a uniform powder. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in all the remaining ingredients, apart from the lamb.

Use a small sharp knife to score the leg of lamb in a few places, making 1.5cm deep slits through the fat and meat to allow the marinade to seep in. Place in a large roasting tin and rub the marinade all over the lamb; use your hands to massage the meat well. Cover the tin with foil and leave aside for at least a couple of hours or, preferably, chill overnight.

Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C Fan/Gas Mark 3%.

Put the lamb in the oven with its fatty side facing up and roast for a total of about 4.5 hours, until the meat is completely tender. After 30 minutes of roasting add about a cup of boiling water to the pan and use this liquid to baste the meat every hour or so. Add more water, as needed, making sure there is always about half a centimetre in the bottom of the tin. For the last 3 hours, cover the lamb with foil to prevent the spices from burning. Once done, remove the lamb from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.

The best way to serve this, in our mind, is inspired by Israel's most renowned shakshuka eatery - Dr Shakshuka, in Jaffa, owned by Bino Gabso. Take six individual pita pockets and brush them liberally inside with a spread made by mixing together 120g chopped tinned tomatoes, 20g harissa paste, 20g tomato paste, 1 tablespoon olive oil and some salt and pepper. When the lamb is ready, warm up the pitas in a hot, ridged griddle pan until they get nice char marks on both sides. Slice the warm lamb and cut the slices into 1.5cm strips. Pile them high over each warm pita, spoon over some of the roasting liquids from the pan, reduced, and finish with chopped onion, chopped parsley and a sprinkle of sumac. And don't forget the fresh cucumber and tomato. It's a heavenly dish.