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Welsh Lamb mechoui with cumin and sea salt, grilled peppers and harissa mayonnaise
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 1 boned shoulder Welsh Lamb (approx. 1kg)
- 6 black garlic cloves, pounded to a paste with a little salt
- 1½tsp Halen Môn Anglesey Sea Salt
- 2tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1tbsp paprika
- 1tbsp freshly ground cumin
- 5tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for oiling or frying
- 3tbsp finely chopped mint
- 1 thyme branch for basting
For the grilled pepper salad
- 1 each red, yellow and orange peppers (alternatively, you can use peppers from a jar)
- 200g tomatoes, preferably in a variety of colours, cut into thin wedges
- 20 pitted black olives, drained
- 3tbsp large capers, drained
- 1½tbsp lemon juice
- 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2tbsp preserved lemon, flesh removed and rind diced
To serve
- 3tbsp cumin seeds
- 1½tbsp Halen Môn Anglesey Sea Salt
- 6tbsp good-quality mayonnaise
- 1tbsp rose harissa
Method
Unroll the shoulder of lamb, smear the garlic paste over the pockets in the meat and season with a little of the salt and pepper. Fold over into a neat rectangular shape and push through a few metal skewers to keep the shape (don’t roll it up again).
Mix the paprika, cumin and remaining salt and pepper and rub all over the shoulder. Cover and leave to marinate for 1–4 hours. Mix the olive oil with the mint in a bowl, ready for basting the lamb during cooking.
If cooking on the barbecue, light it and, when the coals are ready, rake them to one side and oil the rack. Place the lamb shoulder on the rack over a drip tray, to the side of the coals. Cover the barbecue and cook for 45 minutes, basting with the thyme branch dipped in the mint oil every 15 minutes. It may need a further 30 minutes, so top up with coals if need be.
If using the oven, preheat to 200C/180C F/Gas 6. Sear the meat for a few minutes in a frying pan using the extra oil. Transfer to a rack placed in a roasting tin and cook for 45 minutes–1 hour, basting with the mint oil every 15 minutes. If the meat starts to over-brown, cover it with foil.
When the lamb is cooked to your liking, allow it to rest for around 15 minutes.
While the meat is cooking, make the salad (or you can prepare it up to 1 day before). Heat the grill to high. Cut each pepper in half and place, cut-side down, on a foil-lined oven tray, then grill for 12 minutes until the skins are blackened in parts. Transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to cool. When cool and the skins are easy to remove, peel the peppers and discard the stalk and seeds (if using peppers from a jar you can skip this stage). Slice into strips and put in a serving bowl with the tomatoes, olives and capers.
Pour the lemon juice and oil into a screw-topped jar and shake to emulsify. Add the diced preserved lemon and pour over the salad. Keep in a cool place until ready to serve.
To serve, dry-roast the cumin seeds and salt for 2 minutes in a heavy-based iron pan, being careful not to burn. Tip into a mortar and pound coarsely with the pestle, then transfer to a small bowl. Mix the mayonnaise and rose harissa together in another bowl.
Slice the lamb and serve with the cumin and sea salt mix and rose harissa mayonnaise for dipping, with the pepper salad alongside.
Welsh Lamb comes with PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status, ensuring its quality, integrity and provenance. Produced by caring farmers, traditional flocks are farmed non-intensively across grasslands peppered with heather and fragrant wild herbs just as they have been since the 14th century. The result is a unique taste of Wales – versatile, succulent, sweet and tender.
This recipe was taken from the August/September 2021 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.
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