Lamb Shoulder with Hummus and Pomegranate

This is one of those recipes that you can alter to your taste - you can dial up or down the level of input depending on how much time you have - make your own hummus or buy it - get the butcher to cut the backbone (without cutting into the meat) to allow marinade to sink in deeper - or even adjust how long you marinate the lamb for. This recipe is really flexible and forgiving. And over time, you will develop your favourite method of cooking it.

Time: 5 hours, plus up to 24 hours marinade.

INGREDIENTS

Lamb & Marinade

• 1 lamb shoulder, bone in, 2.5–3 kg (see note above about ordering and cutting the bone)

• 1 bunch parsley

• 4 lemons

• 1 head of garlic

• Quality salt and freshly ground pepper

• Olive oil

To Serve/Garnish

• 400g of hummus

• Half a bunch of mint

• ½ pomegranate

• Approx 50g pistachio, lightly broken by hand

• Lemon wedges from the remaining two lemons (optionally charred)

• Olive oil

Equipment Notes

Large cast-iron Dutch oven, or a roasting pan with a tight-fitting lid:
Find one that holds the shoulder comfortably, with 5–6 cm space. This allows for a nice crust to form and helps to retain moisture. If your roasting pan does not have a lid, you can cover the lamb in baking paper, and wrap tightly with foil when instructed to cover with a lid.

Oven or BBQ:
I have written the instructions for the oven, but it is great cooked in the oven or on a BBQ. A charcoal BBQ especially adds a beautiful smoky flavour. Remember that if you are cooking on the BBQ, you won’t have a fan, so expect a longer cooking time. This will extend further if you sneak too many peeks, since your BBQ doesn’t recover from opening as quickly as the oven. There is an old BBQ saying: “if you are looking, it ain’t cooking”.

METHOD

Marinade

1. Cut half the stalks from the parsley and discard or reserve for another purpose. Peel the garlic cloves.

2. Into a high-powered blender or food processor, place 200 ml olive oil, 2 teaspoons of salt, the juice and zest of 2 lemons, parsley, and grind in some cracked pepper. Purée until uniform and relatively smooth, approximately 30 seconds. If your mix isn’t fully incorporated, you can add a little cold water and blitz again. The consistency should be like a thick, pourable pesto.

Lamb

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C.

2. Take your lamb shoulder, lightly salt it all over, remembering you have salt in the marinade. Place the lamb in the cast-iron Dutch oven and rub it with half of the marinade, ensuring all sides are well coated. It will be bright green all over.

3. Place the uncovered lamb shoulder into the oven and cook for 1.5 hours. Every 15 minutes brush with the remaining marinade, dabbing any exposed meat with a little extra to encourage a crust to form.

4. After 1.5 hours, brush with the marinade one last time, add a cup of water to prevent sticking to the base, cover, and return to the oven for another 2.5 hours. Remove from the oven, and check for tenderness.

5. The meat should be gently pulling away from the bone, and be tender. Return to the oven for 20–30 minutes, rotating as needed to ensure a delicious brown crust on all sides.

To Serve

1. Take the lamb shoulder from the oven and cut some slices, and mix some large pieces that are on and off the bone.

2. Smear your platter with hummus, leaving it shallower in the centre. Place your lamb in the middle of the hummus, and dress with the torn mint, pomegranate, and pistachio and lemon wedges (optionally charred). Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil or the reserved marinade.