Slow-Roasted Garlic and Cumin-Spiced Lamb with Moroccan Swede Mash and Braised Kale with Bacon

We were feeling it for Moroccan and had decided recently that we needed to roast a whole shoulder of lamb to continue with my in-home professional development. The lamb is a Rick Stein recipe, but the mash and kale ideas were my own. Also on my list of 'things to cook with' was ras el hanout, a common Moroccan spice mix, which I made from scratch.

The lamb was lovely, soft and spicy. The mash had just enough Moroccan spice to compliment the dish with swede sweetness and buttery-ness with a nice crunchy and bitter counterpoint with the kale. I really loved the balance of the three things together, which is what I was going for.

Slow-Roasted Garlic and Cumin-Spiced Lamb

2.75 kg whole shoulder of lamb on the bone
2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, freshly ground
1 ½ teaspoons sweet paprika
50 g butter, softened
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

CUMIN AND SEA SALT SEASONING
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 160C. Cut away any excess fat from the underside of the lamb, then make deep incisions all over the meat on both sides.

Mix the garlic, cumin, paprika and butter together with 1 teaspoon salt and spread this all over the meat, working it down well into all the little slits. Place the lamb, skinned-side up, on a shallow trivet in the base of large roasting tin, and roast for 4 hours, basting it every 30 minutes with the buttery juices from the tin, until it is well coloured on the outside but still juicy on the inside. This will give you meltingly tender lamb. If you would like it to be falling off the bone, cover the top of the lamb loosely with a sheet of foil and cook it for a further hour.

Meanwhile, for the cumin and sea salt seasoning, heat a small, dry frying pan over a high heat and as soon as it is hot, add the cumin seeds and shake them around for a few seconds until they darken slightly and start to smell aromatic. Tip them into a mortar and grind them slightly with the pestle, but don't render them to a fine powder. Stir in the sea salt and pepper and tip the mixture into a small shallow bowl.

Remove the meat from the bone and break it into small chunks. Arrange the lamb on a warmed serving platter and serve at once with the cumin and sea salt seasoning for sprinkling.

Ras el Hanout

1-½ teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds
¼ teaspoon hot paprika
4 whole cloves
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground allspice

Grind all the ingredients together with a mortar and pestle. Use as instructed in recipes.

Moroccan Swede Mash

500 g swede, peeled and chopped into chunks
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon RAS EL HANOUT
100 milliliters milk
100 g unsalted butter
salt and black pepper

Cover the chopped swede and potatoes with cold water in a large saucepan. Throw in a handful of salt and put the saucepan over high heat. When the water starts to bubble, reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 25 minutes or until the veggies are easily pierced with a sharp knife.

Meanwhile, put the ras el hanout, milk, butter, salt and pepper in a small saucepan and heat over low flame until the butter has melted and the mixture is getting warm, bordering on hot.

When the veggies are done, drain them and return them to the pan. Put the pan back on the stove and let it cook for 30 seconds or so, just to dry out any remaining moisture. Mash the veggies vigorously and beat with a wooden spoon to smooth it out. Start adding the hot milk mixture, a little at a time, and working it in until incorporated with a wooden spoon until all of the milk mixture is worked in and the potatoes are velvety smooth. Taste and adjust for seasoning and serve.

Braised Kale with Bacon

500 g kale, trimmed and chopped
150 g bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
100 milliliters chicken or vegetable stock

Trim and chop 500g kale. Fry 150g chopped bacon with 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan until golden brown. Stir in the chopped kale, add 100ml chicken or vegetable stock and season well. Cook over a high heat for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the kale is wilted and tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve.