I was asked by the lady of the house to come up with a few ideas for a buffet lunch she was hosting. We decided to imagine the table as the Mediterranean Sea with dishes from all the countries, place on the table. Of course being me, none of the dishes were authentic in any way, but I think they conveyed the general feeling. Would Roast Capsicum with toasted flaked almonds be a Spanish dish? It was on my table. None of the guests picked up on, or really cared about the “theme”. It was simply food and this is Jamaica. Can’t really go wrong in the circumstances, and if it’s not grilled chicken with rice and peas, its fancy.
I am very fond of lamb and had been thinking of making a tagine for while, so working with that kind of flavor, I wanted lamb for the centre piece. Well obviously not centre piece as Morocco is not in the middle of the Med, that would be Sicily, but the main meat of the buffet. The other problem is that a tagine is a big pot of stew, and probably not great for a buffet, so I had a presentational issue. Final problem was the timing, buffet was for baby club, so early serving. I needed something I could cook in advance and heat up.
My idea was to cook a leg of lamb very slowly picking up the aromatic Moroccan flavours, and then shred this off the bone so that long string hunks of lamb can be picked up with the fingers.
Ingredients – all amounts are approximate;
For the rub
3 cloves of garlic.
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoon of ground ginger (the powder)
6 cloves
3 teaspoons of turmeric
1 teaspoon of ground fenugreek seeds
4 teaspoons of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
For the tagine
Leg of lamb (still on the bone)
Little bit of olive oil for browning
Large glass of apple juice
2 cinnamon sticks
4 Bay leaves
3 handfuls of dried apricots
3 large teaspoons of Harissa paste
1/3 cup of honey
Juice of 2 lemons
1 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
Water
Making the rub.
In a small dry skillet, separately toast the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves and mustard seed. Each should be toasted until you just start to hear them pop and then transferred to a pestle and mortar and ground. The seeds will toast at different rates, so unless you want the flavor of burnt mustard, you will want to do these separately. To the pestle an mortar, add the already ground spices (ginger, turmeric and fenugreek) and mix well . I know fenugreek is more associated with curries, but I think it compliments here being bitter and sweet.
Crush the garlic cloves and rub over the leg of lamb. Take the powered rub from the pestle and mortar and rub into and all over the now garlicky meat. Leave overnight to absorb the flavor.
While you are at it put the apple juice in a bowl and add one of the handfuls of dried apricots. Leave to soak overnight in the fridge.
Making the tagine
Normally I try to shatter the bone in the leg, even if it is just a few inches off the bottom, so that all the marrow can escape when cooking. It also helps fit the thing into a pot. I don’t own a proper tagine, but a large Oval Le Creuset works perfectly well.
Heat the oil in the pans and sear / brown / blacken the leg of lamb all over. It is going to cook for a tremendously long time so if the odd patch escapes browning, then no harm done.
To the pan add the apricots and apple juice that were soaking overnight. Peel and quarter the onion. Thrown the garlic cloves in with skins on. Add the 2 whole cinnamon sticks, bay, honey, lemon juice and top up with water so that the meant is just covered. Stir in the harissa paste. Depending on you capacity for chili, you might want to add a bit more or less, though I think it is important to have some . I also have a preference for rose harissa, which is beautifully aromatic with crushed rose petals in it.
It won’t look very attractive at this stage. Nevertheless, salt and pepper, put the lid on the casserole, bring to a simmer and leave. Check periodically and keep topping up with water. After about an hour or two you might find that the cinnamon becoming overpowering. Just lift the stick out and throw them in the bin.
You should be looking to cook the lamb for at least 3 hours, possible longer. Unlike a roast leg, you don’t really want pink meat here, and it has to shred off the bone easily.
After about 2 and a half hours, the flavours should be coming through as the fat, marrow and blood of the lamb have rendered down and mixed well in with the sauce. Now you will start to taste the sauce and adjust as necessary. More lemon, more harissa, more honey, more apple juice are easy to add. It is difficult to added powdered spices at this stage, they won’t have time to build flavor and there is a danger that they will form little balls of powder and ruin everything.
Lemon will help take out chili heat, the sweetness of the honey takes the edge off it without taking it out completely. If flavours need beefing up, don’t be afraid to use a jot or two of Worchester sauce (a staple in any kitchen), maybe a jot or two of soy. I would use a lamb stock cube in this recipe, but you might.
With an hour to go, stop topping up with water, so that the sauce can thicken. With 20 minutes an hour to go, chuck in the 2 remaining handfuls of dried apricots.
When cooked lift the leg out an rest on a chopping board. Remove the apricots that were added last (first ones will be complete mush or have dissolved away) and keep in a dish. Strain the liquid and chuck out all the solid crap that it was cooked with.
After the meat has rested for about 15 minutes, go at the leg with 2 forks, a bit like a Chinese waiter preparing a crispy duck. The rougher the better here and you should be left with chunky strings of lamb about the length of a finger, but about a third the width. If the meat is not falling apart, don’t be afraid to put it back in the pot with the now strained liquid.
Pull the stringy pulled lamb in a Tupperware box and pour over just enough liquid to keep these moist and to cover. Lit on the box and cover. Put the apricots in a separate Tupperware box and store. Finally keep the liquid as some of your guests might fancy some gravy.
To serve, microwave the meat in the Tupperware box. Don’t forget to unseal the lid. Microwaves vary a lot and the stuff is going to get cold on the buffet anyway so 5 minutes should do. The apricots, should be cold. Roughly slice these into strips. Throw the lamb on a (warm) serving dish, and it looks a bit better if it all points generally the same way. Scatter over the slices of apricot, and if you feel face a few leaves of coriander (cilantro). Heat the remaining liquid and sever in a gravy boat, so that people can use it to heat up their meat if desired.
I serve this with a couscous, the recipe for which will be for another day. For a buffet, flat breads, roast peppers, Greek yoghurt all go well.
I am very fond of lamb and had been thinking of making a tagine for while, so working with that kind of flavor, I wanted lamb for the centre piece. Well obviously not centre piece as Morocco is not in the middle of the Med, that would be Sicily, but the main meat of the buffet. The other problem is that a tagine is a big pot of stew, and probably not great for a buffet, so I had a presentational issue. Final problem was the timing, buffet was for baby club, so early serving. I needed something I could cook in advance and heat up.
My idea was to cook a leg of lamb very slowly picking up the aromatic Moroccan flavours, and then shred this off the bone so that long string hunks of lamb can be picked up with the fingers.
Ingredients – all amounts are approximate;
For the rub
3 cloves of garlic.
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoon of ground ginger (the powder)
6 cloves
3 teaspoons of turmeric
1 teaspoon of ground fenugreek seeds
4 teaspoons of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
For the tagine
Leg of lamb (still on the bone)
Little bit of olive oil for browning
Large glass of apple juice
2 cinnamon sticks
4 Bay leaves
3 handfuls of dried apricots
3 large teaspoons of Harissa paste
1/3 cup of honey
Juice of 2 lemons
1 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
Water
Making the rub.
In a small dry skillet, separately toast the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves and mustard seed. Each should be toasted until you just start to hear them pop and then transferred to a pestle and mortar and ground. The seeds will toast at different rates, so unless you want the flavor of burnt mustard, you will want to do these separately. To the pestle an mortar, add the already ground spices (ginger, turmeric and fenugreek) and mix well . I know fenugreek is more associated with curries, but I think it compliments here being bitter and sweet.
Crush the garlic cloves and rub over the leg of lamb. Take the powered rub from the pestle and mortar and rub into and all over the now garlicky meat. Leave overnight to absorb the flavor.
While you are at it put the apple juice in a bowl and add one of the handfuls of dried apricots. Leave to soak overnight in the fridge.
Making the tagine
Normally I try to shatter the bone in the leg, even if it is just a few inches off the bottom, so that all the marrow can escape when cooking. It also helps fit the thing into a pot. I don’t own a proper tagine, but a large Oval Le Creuset works perfectly well.
Heat the oil in the pans and sear / brown / blacken the leg of lamb all over. It is going to cook for a tremendously long time so if the odd patch escapes browning, then no harm done.
To the pan add the apricots and apple juice that were soaking overnight. Peel and quarter the onion. Thrown the garlic cloves in with skins on. Add the 2 whole cinnamon sticks, bay, honey, lemon juice and top up with water so that the meant is just covered. Stir in the harissa paste. Depending on you capacity for chili, you might want to add a bit more or less, though I think it is important to have some . I also have a preference for rose harissa, which is beautifully aromatic with crushed rose petals in it.
It won’t look very attractive at this stage. Nevertheless, salt and pepper, put the lid on the casserole, bring to a simmer and leave. Check periodically and keep topping up with water. After about an hour or two you might find that the cinnamon becoming overpowering. Just lift the stick out and throw them in the bin.
You should be looking to cook the lamb for at least 3 hours, possible longer. Unlike a roast leg, you don’t really want pink meat here, and it has to shred off the bone easily.
After about 2 and a half hours, the flavours should be coming through as the fat, marrow and blood of the lamb have rendered down and mixed well in with the sauce. Now you will start to taste the sauce and adjust as necessary. More lemon, more harissa, more honey, more apple juice are easy to add. It is difficult to added powdered spices at this stage, they won’t have time to build flavor and there is a danger that they will form little balls of powder and ruin everything.
Lemon will help take out chili heat, the sweetness of the honey takes the edge off it without taking it out completely. If flavours need beefing up, don’t be afraid to use a jot or two of Worchester sauce (a staple in any kitchen), maybe a jot or two of soy. I would use a lamb stock cube in this recipe, but you might.
With an hour to go, stop topping up with water, so that the sauce can thicken. With 20 minutes an hour to go, chuck in the 2 remaining handfuls of dried apricots.
When cooked lift the leg out an rest on a chopping board. Remove the apricots that were added last (first ones will be complete mush or have dissolved away) and keep in a dish. Strain the liquid and chuck out all the solid crap that it was cooked with.
After the meat has rested for about 15 minutes, go at the leg with 2 forks, a bit like a Chinese waiter preparing a crispy duck. The rougher the better here and you should be left with chunky strings of lamb about the length of a finger, but about a third the width. If the meat is not falling apart, don’t be afraid to put it back in the pot with the now strained liquid.
Pull the stringy pulled lamb in a Tupperware box and pour over just enough liquid to keep these moist and to cover. Lit on the box and cover. Put the apricots in a separate Tupperware box and store. Finally keep the liquid as some of your guests might fancy some gravy.
To serve, microwave the meat in the Tupperware box. Don’t forget to unseal the lid. Microwaves vary a lot and the stuff is going to get cold on the buffet anyway so 5 minutes should do. The apricots, should be cold. Roughly slice these into strips. Throw the lamb on a (warm) serving dish, and it looks a bit better if it all points generally the same way. Scatter over the slices of apricot, and if you feel face a few leaves of coriander (cilantro). Heat the remaining liquid and sever in a gravy boat, so that people can use it to heat up their meat if desired.
I serve this with a couscous, the recipe for which will be for another day. For a buffet, flat breads, roast peppers, Greek yoghurt all go well.
