Categories: Lamb, Main, Meat

Ingredients

• Half leg of lamb, on the bone weighing 1-1.45kg
• For the marinade:
• 1 tbs paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 4 bay leaves, crumbled
• 1/2 lemon, zest only
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 onion, peeled and grated
• salt to taste
• 2 tsp black pepper, cracked
• 4 tbs olive oil
• For the Lamb Jus:
• lamb bone and scraps
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 570ml fresh lamb stock
• 275ml iced water
• 2 bay leaves
• salt
• black pepper, freshly milled
• For the hummus:
• 2 x 420g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbs tahini paste or sesame seeds, crushed
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• pinch cayenne
• juice of 11/2 lemons
• 175-250ml olive oil
• salt
• black pepper, freshly milled

Directions

1. Bone the lamb if this has not already been done at the meat counter, then separate it into two portions. (Keep the bone and any meat scraps to make the lamb jus.) Trim off any excess fat and, using a sharp knife, score the remaining fat all over. Turn over the lamb and slash deep gashes into the meat – make sure you don’t penetrate the other side.

2. Place the two pieces of lamb in a shallow dish or roasting tray. Mix the marinade ingrediants together and rub them into the lamb. Cover and refrigerate, then leave to marinate for at least four hours or, preferably, overnight.

3. For the jus, place the bones in a roasting tray, drizzle with 1 tbs of olive oil and roast in a hot oven (gas mark 7, 425F, 220C) until dark and crisp (about 25 minutes).

4. In a medium-sized pan, sweat the tomatoes, onion, carrot, celery and garlic in the other tablespoon of olice oil until soft. Add the roasted bones (chopped in half if they won’t fit otherwise), any lamb scraps and the lamb stock, and bring to the boil.

5. Boil, uncovered for a couple of minutes, then add the iced water and remove from the heat. This should cool the stock sufficiently to allow any fat to coagulate on the surface. Skim off as much of the fat as you can. Add the bay leaves and simmer for one hour. Sieve through a fine-meshed sieve, then cover and refrigerate.

6. For the hummus, which can be made up to two days in advance, place the chickpeas, tahini paste or crushed sesame seeds, garlic, ground cumin, cayenne, lemon juice and seasonings in a food processor. Add 175ml olive oil and process, adding extra olive oil if necessary, until you have a smooth (but not runny) puree. Cover the surface with a thin layer of olive oil (to prevent it from crusting), then cover with clingfilm and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

7. When ready to cook the lamb, heat the over to gas mark 8, 450F, 230C. Heat a cast iron or heavy-based frying pan until smoking hot. Sear the marinated lamb, one piece at a time, for about two minutes on each side or until lightly blackened.

8. Place the lamb, skin side down, on a rack in a roasting tray and roast for ten minutes. Turn the pieces over and roast for a further 15 minutes for rare, or 20-25 minutes for well done.

9. Remove from the roasting tin, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for ten minutes.

10. Add the lamb just to the tin and boil up over a high heat – make sure you scrape and mix in all the crusted spices. Sieve through a muslin-lined or fine-mesh sieve into a clean plan, then add seasoning.

11. To serve: Heat four dinner plates. Carve the lamb into thick slices (about four per person). Place a tatin on each plate, top with a mint sprig and place a spoonful of hummus alongside. Lay the slices of lamb across the hummus and surround with the jus. Have some crusty bread handy to mop up all the juices.

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