When I was a kid, I remember my mom cooking “roast” every Sunday. Lamb in pieces, with potatoes and slices of tomatoes. It’s great when you’re expecting guests for dinner, to put a meal in the oven for hours, without having to move from your chair. You will forget about this lamb in the oven for 6 hours and when you serve it you will enjoy the exclamations of admiration. You will spread an aromatic paste of spices everywhere that will make the food spicier, more interesting and very – very tasty.
Fragrant leg of lamb with spice crust
When I was a kid, I remember my mom cooking"roast" every Sunday. Lamb in pieces, with potatoes and slices oftomatoes. It's great when you're expecting guests for dinner, to put a meal inthe oven for hours, without having to move from your chair.
Ingredients
- 1 leg of lamb about 2 kg
- 5-6 large onions cut into slices about half a centimeter thick
- 4 whole cloves of garlic
- 2 Tbsp of olive oil
- 1 cup chicken stock ((250 ml)
- salt
For the spice paste:
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander dry
- 2 cloves of garlic
- About 5 cm of ginger cleaned
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 Tbsp sweet paprika
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup olive oil 60 ml
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 red hot peppers seedless
- 1 cup fresh coriander 250 ml
- 2 tsp almonds
- 2 tsp yogurt drained
Instructions
- First we make the spice paste. Put all the ingredients except the yogurt in a blender. Mix at high speed until you have a homogeneous paste. Pour into a bowl and add the yogurt. Stir with a spoon to mix.
- Prepare the pan for the lamb. Spread a large piece of greaseproof paper on the base of the pan, leaving enough to protrude from both sides (we will use the greaseproof paper that protrudes to “close” the lamb). Place all the onions in the base of the pan. Spread them over the entire surface of the pan and salt them. Add the garlic and pour over the olive oil and stock. Salt the thigh on all sides and place it on top of the onions. With a sharp knife, score the thigh in 3-4 points diagonally. The grooves should be about 1-2 centimeters deep.
- Put on plastic gloves and spread half of the spice paste on the thigh, pushing well so that it penetrates into the grooves. Turn the thigh on the other side and repeat with the rest of the paste.
- “Close” the lamb with the non-stick paper that protrudes from the pan. Cover the pan with two layers of aluminum foil to seal it tightly. Place it in the refrigerator and leave it for 24-48 hours.
- Take the pan with the lamb out of the fridge one hour before cooking it.
- Preheat the oven to 140° C. Bake the lamb, covered as it is in its pan, for 6 hours. If desired, serve with rice flavored with cumin seeds.
