Slow-cooked lamb shoulder with mint and cumin Yotam Ottolenghii.

- Yotam Ottolenghi’s Easter recipes | Food | The Guardian
Marinate the lamb overnight if you can, so the flavours really seep into the meat, and give it four hours at the very least. If you’re planning to eat this on the day of cooking, you’ll have to get going first thing, because it needs six and a half hours in the oven, but it’s fine to be cooked a day ahead, then kept in the fridge, ready to be shredded and warmed up in its own juices.

Prep 12 min
Marinate 4-12 hr
Cook 6½ hr
Serves 4-6

2 lemons, zest finely grated, to get 1 tbsp, then juiced, to get 4 tbsp
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp paprika
½ tsp fenugreek seeds, lightly crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
25g mint leaves
15g coriander
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1 large lamb shoulder (about 2kg)
1 celeriac, peeled and cut into 3cm-wide wedges (850g net weight)
5 large carrots, peeled and cut in half, widthways (600g net weight)
2 whole heads garlic, cut in half widthways

Put the lemon zest, lemon juice, crushed garlic, spices, herbs and oil in the small bowl of a food processor with a teaspoon and a half of salt and plenty of pepper. Blitz to a rough paste and set aside.

Put the lamb in a large bowl and stab the meat all over about 30 times with a small, sharp knife. Rub the spice paste all over the meat, massaging it into the incisions, then cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least four hours (and ideally overnight).

Heat the oven to 170C/335F/gas 3. Transfer the lamb and all its marinade into a large, high-sided baking dish about 30cm x 40cm. Cover the tray tightly with tin foil and roast for an hour, then turn down the heat to 160C/320F/gas 2½, add the celeriac, carrots and half garlic heads (put these in cut side up) to the tray, and cover again with the same foil. Roast for another four hours, basting three or four times during the cooking time (and resealing the tray with foil each time).

Remove the foil and roast for another hour and a half, until the lamb is browned all over, the meat is falling apart and the vegetables are caramelised.

Slow-cooked lamb shoulder with mint and cumin Yotam Ottolenghii.

- Yotam Ottolenghi’s Easter recipes | Food | The Guardian
Marinate the lamb overnight if you can, so the flavours really seep into the meat, and give it four hours at the very least. If you’re planning to eat this on the day of cooking, you’ll have to get going first thing, because it needs six and a half hours in the oven, but it’s fine to be cooked a day ahead, then kept in the fridge, ready to be shredded and warmed up in its own juices.

Prep 12 min
Marinate 4-12 hr
Cook 6½ hr
Serves 4-6

Lamb bake with tahini sauce and grated tomatoes Yotam Ottolenghi.

- Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes for autumn bakes | Food | The Guardian

You can serve this in two ways: just as it is, warm, as part of a main meal; or leave it to cool and set, then cut into thick slices – these are great piled into a sandwich or warm pitta with the tahini sauce and tomato drizzled on top. Makes one loaf (or eight slices), to serve four to eight.

1 courgette, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tomatoes – 1 roughly chopped, 2 coarsely grated and skin discarded
500g lamb mince, at least 20% fat
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
80g pecorino, finely grated
50g fresh breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground allspice
Salt
100g tahini paste
3 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing

Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5 and grease a 20cm x 10cm loaf tin with a little oil.

Put the courgette, carrot, onion and chopped tomato in the bowl of a food processor and blitz until it’s of a similar consistency to the mince. Transfer to a sieve set over a bowl and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Put the vegetables in a large bowl, add the lamb, two garlic cloves, all the pecorino, breadcrumbs, eggs, tomato paste and spices, and a teaspoon of salt, then use your hands to bring it all together until well combined.

Transfer to the loaf tin, then put the tin in a high-sided baking dish. Carefully fill the dish with enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the tin, then bake for an hour and 10 minutes, until golden brown.

While the meatloaf is cooking, make the sauces. Put the tahini, one garlic clove, two teaspoons of lemon juice and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl, then slowly whisk in 80ml water until you have a smooth sauce.

In a second bowl, mix the grated tomatoes with the remaining garlic, a teaspoon of lemon juice, the olive oil and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt.

Once the meatloaf is cooked, lift the loaf tin out of its water bath and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Pour off and discard any liquid and fat in the loaf tin, then, using a wide spatula, transfer the meatloaf to a platter. Pour a third of the tahini sauce over the meatloaf, followed by a third of the tomatoes. Serve warm, with the remaining sauces alongside, or leave to cool and cut into slices to serve in pitta bread with the sauces drizzled on top.

Lamb bake with tahini sauce and grated tomatoes Yotam Ottolenghi.

- Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes for autumn bakes | Food | The Guardian

You can serve this in two ways: just as it is, warm, as part of a main meal; or leave it to cool and set, then cut into thick slices – these are great piled into a sandwich or warm pitta with the tahini sauce and tomato drizzled on top. Makes one loaf (or eight slices), to serve four to eight.