Slow Roasted Turkish Lamb Food

SLOW-ROASTED TURKISH LAMB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut lamb shoulder into 2 or 3 pieces, and place in a shallow 12-by-14-inch roasting pan or similar. Season generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with red pepper, if desired.
• Rub meat with olive oil, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses. Tuck thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, garlic cloves and onion halves here and there. Place in oven, uncovered, and roast for 30 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned.
• Turn meat browned-side down and add 2 cups of water to the pan. Cover tightly with foil or lid. Reduce heat to 325 degrees. Cook, covered, until meat is absolutely fork tender and beginning to fall apart, about 3 1/2 hours total. Uncover during last 30 minutes of cooking if you want to brown the meat a bit more.
• Remove meat to a cutting board. Pour pan juices into a skillet (discard herbs and garlic). Skim and discard excess fat from surface. Bring to a boil and simmer until about a cup remains.
• Chop or shred meat into 1-inch chunks or rough slices. Transfer to a warm platter and pour juices over. (Alternatively, leave meat in pan with reduced juices until ready to serve.) Garnish with persimmon and pomegranate (if using), parsley, mint and lemon wedges. Serve yogurt on the side.

TURKISH ROASTED LAMB (KUZU TANDıR)

Steps:

• When you buy your leg of lamb, ask your butcher to clean off as much excess fat as possible. Then, have the leg separated into 3 pieces at the joints.
• Preheat your oven to 285 F. Place the lamb in a shallow metal oven roasting tray. In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, and spices. Pour the mixture over the lamb.
• Wearing rubber gloves, rub the mixture all over the lamb, massaging it into the meat for several minutes. Add the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs. Place the tray in the oven uncovered.
• Let the lamb cook slowly at this low temperature for about 1 1/2 hours. You'll see that the meat will release its fat and juices, then reabsorb them as it cooks. After the first 30 minutes, turn the pieces of lamb over. Repeat this two more times during the cooking process.
• When 1 1/2 hours have passed and you have turned the meat three times, pour the 1/2 cup of hot water over the meat, then close the roasting pan completely with aluminum foil. Turn up the oven temperature to 365 F and leave the meat to roast for at least 1 hour more.
• After about 1 hour, remove the pan from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Remove the foil. The meat should be very tender and fall cleanly off the bones. Using two forks, remove all the meat from the bones and discard them. Also, remove the bay leaves and rosemary.
• Your kuzu tandır is ready to serve. Serve it with piping hot Turkish rice pilaf with orzo or with potato puree.

GIGOT A LA CUILLèRE - FRENCH SLOW COOKED SPOON LAMB

Steps:

• TRADITIONAL OVEN METHOD.
• Preheat the oven to 120 degrees C or 248 F, gas mark 1/2. Season the leg of lamb with salt and pepper to taste.
• Put the casserole or roasting tin on the hob and brown the lamb thoroughly on all sides (it is important to do this now as the meat will not brown in the oven). If the lamb sticks add a little oil to the casserole. Use the cooker extractor fan to disperse any smoke. Drain away any fat that has gathered in the bottom of the pan.
• Add the vegetables to the casserole along with the white wine and stock. Season and bring to the boil.
• Put on the lid or cover tightly with tin foil and place in the pre heated oven. Bake for 7 hours, turning twice during this time. The meat will be cooked after 5 hours and offer no resistance to the knife.
• The meat requires no resting time when cooked in this way. Transfer the meat and vegetables to a serving platter. Strain the meat juices into a jug and pour or blot away the fat with kitchen paper. Pour the juices into a pan and boil vigorously until reduced by a quarter.
• Adjust the seasoning and add the Armagnac or Madeira. Garnish the lamb with the sprigs of thyme and serve with the sauce. Use a spoon to carve and serve the lamb - a la cuillere as the French call it. It will be tender, succulent and delicious !
• CROCK-POT COOKING METHOD.
• Carry out steps 3 and 4 as shown above; then place into the crock-pot and cook on high for 2 hours and then on low for about 6 hours, or until the lamb is cooked as instructed above - soft and spoonable!
• Serve as before.

TURKISH LAMB PILAU

Steps:

• Dry-fry the pine nuts or almonds in a large pan until lightly toasted, then tip onto a plate. Add the oil to the pan, then fry the onion and cinnamon together until starting to turn golden. Turn up the heat, stir in the lamb, fry until the meat changes colour, then tip in the rice and cook for 1 min, stirring all the time.
• Pour in 500ml boiling water, crumble in the stock cube, add the apricots, then season to taste. Turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 12 mins until the rice is tender and the stock has been absorbed. Toss in the pine nuts and mint and serve.

SLOW COOKED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 120C/fan 100C/gas ½. Put your largest lidded casserole on the hob and brown the seasoned leg of lamb on all sides - do this very thoroughly until it is a good dark brown as it will not brown during the cooking. (If you don't do it now, it will end up beige.) If the lamb sticks, add a drizzle of oil - legs of lamb differ. Allow 10 mins on a high heat and put on the cooker fan to remove the smoke. Pour away any fat that has collected in the bottom of the pan.
• Throw in the vegetables, followed by the wine and stock. Season and bring to the boil, then clap on the lid and put in the oven. Bake for 7 hrs, turning twice. After 5 hrs the meat will be cooked and offer no resistance to the knife.
• There is no need to rest the meat when cooked in this way, but to finish the sauce, transfer the meat and vegetables to a serving dish. Strain the sauce into a jug and pour or blot away the fat with kitchen paper. Pour the sauce into a pan then boil the liquid hard to reduce by a quarter, by which time it will be rich and flavoursome. Adjust seasoning, add the Armagnac if you wish, and serve alongside the lamb, which should be served with a spoon, a la cuillère as the French call it.

SLOW-ROAST SPICED LAMB SHOULDER WITH SUMAC ONIONS

Steps:

• Season lamb very generously with salt and pepper; place on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet.
• Toast peppercorns and coriander seeds in a dry small skillet over medium heat, tossing often, until fragrant, about 3 minutes; let cool. Finely grind in spice mill or with mortar and pestle; transfer to a small bowl. Mix in paprika, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg, then rub all over lamb. Chill uncovered at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.
• Let lamb sit out on counter at room temperature 1 hour before roasting.
• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 275°F. Transfer lamb to a roasting pan and pour in 3 cups water. Cover tightly with foil and cook, turning lamb over and rotating pan halfway through, until meat is almost falling off the bone, 3-3 1/2 hours. Remove lamb from oven and turn up heat to broil (or to highest heat if you have a drawer-style broiler). Discard foil, transfer lamb to a cutting board, and pour off liquid in pan. Return lamb to pan; roast, uncovered, until nicely browned, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, toss onion, lemon juice, and sumac in a small bowl with your hands, squeezing onion a bit to soften.
• Just before serving, toss mint, parsley, and a pinch of salt into onion mixture. Serve lamb topped with onion salad.