North African Leg of lamb in unctuous, thick sauce?
March 4, 2023 5:15 AM Subscribe
I'm hoping to make a delicious North African sunday dinner tomorrow for some friends, and I'm hoping to recreate a dish I've enjoyed in North African restaurants of leg of lamb served with a thick, delicious gravy/sauce.
However - I'm really struggling to find a recipe for the same online - all the recipes I've found feature a glaze and/or marinade, but they don't seem to come with a nice thick sauce.
Any ideas?! Also bonus points for side dish recommendations!! Thank you
Any ideas?! Also bonus points for side dish recommendations!! Thank you
Response by poster: Thank you! It isn't actually lamb tagine but that might be my best option at this point! :-D
posted by dance at 5:56 AM on March 4, 2023
posted by dance at 5:56 AM on March 4, 2023
If you can fit a shoulder of lamb in your pot (and if you haven’t already bought a leg), I think it softens into a more comfortingly tender texture for this kind of dish. I haven’t looked at the recipe in the link, but pomegranate molasses & preserved lemon are good additions if they’re not already listed. Long & slow cooking.
Hummus and baba ganoush are great side dishes. Flat breads or pitta with garlic oil. Dukkah. A tomato salad with pomegranate seeds & oregano.
posted by rd45 at 6:08 AM on March 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Hummus and baba ganoush are great side dishes. Flat breads or pitta with garlic oil. Dukkah. A tomato salad with pomegranate seeds & oregano.
posted by rd45 at 6:08 AM on March 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Roasted lamb will have amazing pan juices and fond. I love lamb gravy made by deglazing the pan, adding port or sherry or red wine, depending on how much sweetness you like, water, and thickening it with a roux. Alcohol would probably not be traditional, but a bit of cider would add acid. Lemon juice would be more traditional.
Typical additions to sauce - yogurt, red onion garlic, mint, parsley, cilantro. I think I'd add red onion and lemon to the sauce, and keep a fair bit of the fat, then make a yogurt sauce with more red onion, and mint, parsley, cilantro.
Flatbread, definitely, for scooping everything up. Sweet potatoes, eggplant, roasted fennel if it's available. Couscous or rice.
posted by theora55 at 7:31 AM on March 4, 2023
Typical additions to sauce - yogurt, red onion garlic, mint, parsley, cilantro. I think I'd add red onion and lemon to the sauce, and keep a fair bit of the fat, then make a yogurt sauce with more red onion, and mint, parsley, cilantro.
Flatbread, definitely, for scooping everything up. Sweet potatoes, eggplant, roasted fennel if it's available. Couscous or rice.
posted by theora55 at 7:31 AM on March 4, 2023
Response by poster: Thanks @theora55 & @rd45!
@mumimor it's whole leg - not an entire one, but a large chunk.
posted by dance at 7:48 AM on March 4, 2023
@mumimor it's whole leg - not an entire one, but a large chunk.
posted by dance at 7:48 AM on March 4, 2023
Well, ima going to riff on this.
First of all, twice forgotten leg of lamb: season and then roast a leg of lamb on high heat under the broiler or on a cast iron pan on the stovetop till it is brown all over. Then wrap it in foil or baking paper with a dense layer of fresh herbs and several cloves of fresh crushed garlic. You can use whatever you can get, parsley, mint, thyme, oregano, marjoram, rosemary... But the meat has to be entirely covered with herbs. Put your package into the oven at low heat, perhaps 150 C. Forget about it. It probably needs two hours, I don't know. It's twice forgotten lamb for a reason.
Meanwhile, focus on the sides and the sauce.
The most optimal starter would be a b'stilla. This is a bit of a challenge, but it should leave you with some extra chicken stock for your gravy, though I can't see it in the recipe. Otherwise, just use store-bought stock for your gravy.
Morrocans often eat something like a mezze for starters. There are different types of salads, like quick-pickled vegetables, grilled aubergines and courgettes, grated carrots dressed with lemon juice and perhaps some currants. A bowl of harira soup. Hummus is always good.
Since the leg of lamb is packed away -- this is obviously not traditional, but it was invented to mimic berber ways of cooking under a fire -- you have to make the gravy from scratch.
I'd start with chopping an onion very finely and gently cooking it in a mix of butter and olive oil. When it is soft and translucent, I'll add two or three crushed cloves of garlic and a cup of chopped up dried fruit like dates, prunes or apricots. Whatever you like. Add spices, it could be a ras-al-hanout blend, or harissa, or your own blend of cloves, cinnamon, white pepper, paprika, allspice, ginger and a bit of salt. Stir until the aromas are released, then add tomato paste and some chicken broth. Let this reduce over a slow burner till it is very thick.
When the lamb is ready, unwrap it very carefully, keeping all the juices in your wrap. Pour the juices into your reduced gravy while the meat rests. Stir and reduce the gravy again to the desired stickiness. Season to taste. You might want to add a bit of lemon or orange juice for freshness.
I'd serve this with either bread or oven-roasted potatoes with rosemary. The starters should be enough vegs.
My favorite dessert for this type of meal is thinly sliced oranges sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon powder, and if I'm feeling indulgent, with homemade nutella ice cream.
Excuse me for the lack of measurements, I'm a grandmother.
Also I want to cook this now.
posted by mumimor at 8:36 AM on March 4, 2023 [10 favorites]
First of all, twice forgotten leg of lamb: season and then roast a leg of lamb on high heat under the broiler or on a cast iron pan on the stovetop till it is brown all over. Then wrap it in foil or baking paper with a dense layer of fresh herbs and several cloves of fresh crushed garlic. You can use whatever you can get, parsley, mint, thyme, oregano, marjoram, rosemary... But the meat has to be entirely covered with herbs. Put your package into the oven at low heat, perhaps 150 C. Forget about it. It probably needs two hours, I don't know. It's twice forgotten lamb for a reason.
Meanwhile, focus on the sides and the sauce.
The most optimal starter would be a b'stilla. This is a bit of a challenge, but it should leave you with some extra chicken stock for your gravy, though I can't see it in the recipe. Otherwise, just use store-bought stock for your gravy.
Morrocans often eat something like a mezze for starters. There are different types of salads, like quick-pickled vegetables, grilled aubergines and courgettes, grated carrots dressed with lemon juice and perhaps some currants. A bowl of harira soup. Hummus is always good.
Since the leg of lamb is packed away -- this is obviously not traditional, but it was invented to mimic berber ways of cooking under a fire -- you have to make the gravy from scratch.
I'd start with chopping an onion very finely and gently cooking it in a mix of butter and olive oil. When it is soft and translucent, I'll add two or three crushed cloves of garlic and a cup of chopped up dried fruit like dates, prunes or apricots. Whatever you like. Add spices, it could be a ras-al-hanout blend, or harissa, or your own blend of cloves, cinnamon, white pepper, paprika, allspice, ginger and a bit of salt. Stir until the aromas are released, then add tomato paste and some chicken broth. Let this reduce over a slow burner till it is very thick.
When the lamb is ready, unwrap it very carefully, keeping all the juices in your wrap. Pour the juices into your reduced gravy while the meat rests. Stir and reduce the gravy again to the desired stickiness. Season to taste. You might want to add a bit of lemon or orange juice for freshness.
I'd serve this with either bread or oven-roasted potatoes with rosemary. The starters should be enough vegs.
My favorite dessert for this type of meal is thinly sliced oranges sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon powder, and if I'm feeling indulgent, with homemade nutella ice cream.
Excuse me for the lack of measurements, I'm a grandmother.
Also I want to cook this now.
posted by mumimor at 8:36 AM on March 4, 2023 [10 favorites]
A lot of the gravies used in North African foods have an onion/tomato base, similar to Indian recipes. The spices are the main difference.
posted by pipeski at 9:50 AM on March 4, 2023
posted by pipeski at 9:50 AM on March 4, 2023
Take a look at the River Cottage cookbook, they have a slow cooked lamb shoulder recipe that might meet your needs. Similar to mumimor's delicious sounding recipe above.
The secret is low and slow cooking: Cut scratches into the top of the lamb, apply dry rub aromatics (in the Bigbootay. Tay! Tay! Blam! Aargh... household we use cumin, 5-spice, lots of garlic cloves, rosemary, coriander and a bit of curry), and sear at high temperature in a large dutch oven or aluminum foil enclosed pan. Then cover tightly, and cook 5 hours + at 220F or so, over a bed of onions and shallots. You can add chicken stock, or better yet dark beer. Halfway through, check to adjust liquids.
Plenty of delicious juices result.
You can adapt the recipe to make it more middle eastern: Different spices, add dry fruits like apricots and dates, etc.
posted by Bigbootay. Tay! Tay! Blam! Aargh... at 10:35 AM on March 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
The secret is low and slow cooking: Cut scratches into the top of the lamb, apply dry rub aromatics (in the Bigbootay. Tay! Tay! Blam! Aargh... household we use cumin, 5-spice, lots of garlic cloves, rosemary, coriander and a bit of curry), and sear at high temperature in a large dutch oven or aluminum foil enclosed pan. Then cover tightly, and cook 5 hours + at 220F or so, over a bed of onions and shallots. You can add chicken stock, or better yet dark beer. Halfway through, check to adjust liquids.
Plenty of delicious juices result.
You can adapt the recipe to make it more middle eastern: Different spices, add dry fruits like apricots and dates, etc.
posted by Bigbootay. Tay! Tay! Blam! Aargh... at 10:35 AM on March 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
I hope you’ll update with resists, would love to know how it turns out.
posted by theora55 at 5:38 AM on March 5, 2023
posted by theora55 at 5:38 AM on March 5, 2023
You could call the resto and ask what they use!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:18 AM on March 5, 2023
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:18 AM on March 5, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Rhedyn at 5:34 AM on March 4, 2023 [1 favorite]