Cumin and lamb is a great combination – almost as compatible as lamb and mint. One of my favourite dishes is a dry lamb dish with cumin and chili – I ate it in Beijing and it is a gloriously more-ish combination, washed down with a good dry ale.
This one is a more traditional roast but with an unusual combination of vegetables: cauliflower, cucumber, carrots and shallots.
It’s extremely easy and quick to make.
Ingredients:
- 1 lamb shoulder
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 3 french shallots, peeled
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
- 200ml white wine
- 1/2 cauliflower cut into small florets
- a couple of carrots julienned
- a couple of courgettes julienned (I didn’t have any so left these out)
- cucumber peeled and julienned
- 50 g butter
Preheat your oven to 200ºC.
Rub the lamb shoulder with oil and then season with salt and pepper. Put the lamb in a flame proof roasting dish and brown quickly over a high heat. If you don’t have a flame proof roaster then do this step in a heavy frying pan and then transfer to a roasting dish.
Add the shallots, garlic and cumin and roast in the oven for forty minutes.
Remove the roast and pour over the white wine. Add the cauliflower, carrots, courgettes and cucumber and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
Add the butter and combine well with the vegetables and serve immediately.
