076/18 – Harissa Infused Leg of Lamb:
When I bought “Feasts” by Sabrina Ghayour one of the dishes that really stood out was the Harissa Infused Leg of Lamb. It looked awesome in the picture and I had marked it on my list as a must do cook!
I have cooked a few dishes from this book now, the Roasted Cod Loins and the Vine Baked Sea Bass were fantastic!
At the time of writing this the book is down to the bargain price of £6.99 at Amazon.
The Meat:
1.5kg Leg of Lamb from Turner and George – 
The Prep:
To make the marinade I mixed Greek yoghurt, toasted/crushed Fenugreek seeds, Rose Harissa, Turmeric, Garlic, Lime zest and juice, Ghee, Maldon Sea Salt and Black pepper. I was surprised how yellow the marinade was as in the picture it’s more red. Looking at the recipe now I may have used tablespoons of Turmeric instead of teaspoons! I slashed the meat in a few places on both sides then rubbed in the marinade, covered the dish and put it in the fridge for 24 hours.
The Cook:
On the day of the cook I fired up some Oxford Charcoal Birch Lumpwood which is described as “Subtle, Sweet, Minerally flavour profile – we can’t help feeling sad if someone grills lamb with anything else!” – Had to use it really! Once the Kamado Joe was up to about 200c I put the divide and conquer system in with heat deflectors on both sides and a foil tray on top of one to catch any drippings from the lamb. Standard grills in but on the higher settings.
More Prep:
I cooked this on a Sunday so it became a Sunday Roast with a difference! Spiced Potatoes (Also from Feasts) and Cumin Roasted Carrots (From Persiana, also by Sabrina Ghayour) were also add to the menu!
The Potatoes were par boiled then drained, rinsed and dried before drizzling rapeseed oil over them and adding lemon zest, cumin seeds, chilli flakes and black pepper. I gave the bowl a good swirl around to mix everything then poured them into a roasting tray with more oil. Turmeric yoghurt was made by mixing Greek yoghurt, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Turmeric. Mint leaves were rolled and sliced then garlic was sliced and fried into crisps. The mint and garlic were for dressing the potatoes at the end.
The Carrots were sliced diagonally and mixed with rapeseed oil, cumin seeds, Maldon Sea Salt and Black pepper then everything was mixed together in the roasting tray.
Back to the Cook:
Both dishes were added to the Kamado Joe. At this point even the Big Joe was struggling for space a bit! Great colour on the lamb. 
The Potatoes took about 40 minutes to cook, I flipped them over after 30 minutes. 
The carrots took about 30 minutes, they were sprinkled with nigella seeds and thyme (didn’t have dill!).
Time to Slice:
I was using the Meater temperature probe on this cook and had nothing but trouble with it so the lamb was a bit overcooked from what I was hoping for but slicing into the meat I saw it was incredibly juicy which was good. I took a few sneaky bites whilst slicing – fantastic taste!
The meat was looking great, almost time to plate up.
Leg of lamb isn’t the easiest to carve but I didn’t do bad with that!
Time to Eat:
Lamb, Spiced Potatoes with the Turmeric Yoghurt and Cumin Roasted Carrots.
SUMMARY:
What a great meal this was, really enjoyed each of the 3 dishes and together they were fantastic! The lamb was very tasty from the marinade but was also nice and juicy. The potatoes were crispy with a nice hint of spice enhanced by the turmeric yoghurt. Cumin roasted carrots were spot on, simple to prepare and cook – I can see these being cooked more often!
| Cook Difficulty: | 3/5 |
| Cook Duration: | Medium: 3/5 |
| Cook Equipment: | Kamado Joe Big Joe |
| Cook Method: | Indirect |
| Charcoal: | Oxford Charcoal Birch |
| Smoking Wood: | N/A |
| Cook temperature: | 200c |
| Cook time: | 85 minutes |
| Internal temperature: | 65c ish |
| Notes: | 1: Had a bit of trouble maintaining temperature – fill the firebowl more. 2: The lamb took longer than expected, more fuel will help. Don’t move to direct or it will burn. 3: Carrots and potatoes were great and fairly easy to prep/cook – do them more often! |
THE BOOK:
If you like the look of this recipe you can buy the book for £6.99 at Amazon. by clicking the picture below:
If you like the look of the carrots then Persiana is also a great book and is currently £16.48 on Amazon.
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