Colm O'Gorman's alternative Easter feast
This shawarma is the centrepiece of Colm O'Gorman's alternative Easter feast
Colm O'Gorman's Lamb Shawarma
This spiced lamb shawarma is roasted in the oven, low and slow, until it is falling-apart tender and juicy.
Servings
6Preparation Time
30 minsCooking Time
1 hours 30 minsTotal Time
2 hours 0 minsCourse
MainCuisine
Middle-EasternIngredients
1.5kg leg of lamb, butterflied
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp flaky sea salt
2 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp allspice
60 ml extra virgin olive oil
Juice and zest of a lemon
1 large onion
Method
If you can, marinate your lamb overnight, but do give it at least two hours in the marinade. Make up the marinade by blitzing the garlic, all the spices, the salt, olive oil, lemon juice and zest in a food processor until you get a smooth paste. Open out the butterflied lamb and spread the marinade all over the meat, covering both sides well. Roll the lamb back up, cover it in cling film and pop it in the fridge to marinade overnight.
The next day preheat your oven to 160 Celsius. Peel and cut the onion into thick slices. Scatter the onion over the bottom of a cast iron casserole, open out the lamb and and sit it on top of the onions. Pop on the lid and place the dish into the oven. If you do not have a casserole dish, you can use a roasting tray, covered with a double layer of tin foil. Roast the lamb for one hour, and then add 200 ml of water to the casserole. Pop the lid back on and roast it for another ninety minutes, then finally, remove the lid and roast the lamb for one more hour until it is soft and tender and the surface has a beautiful spicy crust.
Pickled red onions
Easy peasy - we should all have these in our fridge
Cooking Time
20 minsTotal Time
20 minsCourse
SideIngredients
2 red onions
250ml white wine vinegar
125g caster sugar
1 tsp sea salt
Method
- While the lamb is roasting you can prepare the accompaniments. To make the picked onions, peel and very thinly slice two red onions. Heat the white wine vinegar, sugar and salt over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Pour the mixture over the sliced onions and let them pickle away until you are ready to serve. If there are any leftovers, these onions will keep for a few weeks in a jar in the fridge and they are delicious with burgers, grilled meats and chicken or as a side to cheese toasties.
Chilli sauce
This sauce works really well with eggs, too
Cooking Time
10 minsTotal Time
10 minsCourse
SideIngredients
30g flat leaf parsley, leaves and stalks
30g fresh coriander, leaves and stalks
3-4 green chillies
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
60 ml extra virgin olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp flaky sea salt
A good grind of black pepper
Method
- To make the chilli sauce, remove the tops from the chillis and cut them into rough chunks. Peel and roughly chop the garlic and wash the fresh herbs. Blitz all the ingredients in a food processor until you get a smooth, vibrant green sauce. If you want to make this super spicy, use another chilli or two.
Flatbreads
Soft, fluffy and delicious - you'll never eat shop-bought flatbreads again
Servings
6Preparation Time
30 minsCooking Time
20 minsTotal Time
50 minsCourse
SideCuisine
Middle-EasternIngredients
500g plain or strong white flour
7g active dried yeast
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp sea salt
30ml olive oil
180ml Greek yoghurt
200ml lukewarm water
Method
Make up the dough. Put the flour yeast, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. I use my Kenwood mixer and its dough hook for this, but you can mix it by hand. If using a dough hook, mix at medium speed for five minutes until the dough comes together in a ball around the hook and comes clean away from the edges of the bowl. If mixing by hand, once the dough has come together, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead strongly for five to ten minutes. This is a soft dough, so do not worry it if is a little sticky. If it is very wet, knead in a little more flour, but you should not need much more than the 500g. Shape the dough into a long sausage shape and cut into ten equal sizes pieces. Shape into balls, cover loosely with some cling film or a damp tea towel and let them rest for fifteen minutes.
To cook the flatbreads, heat a heavy based frying pan over a high heat. Roll a ball of dough out into a disc, roughly 20cm in diameter, and pop it onto the hot pan. You will not need any oil to cook these, simply use a dry pan. Cook for a minute or two until the surface begins to bubble and puff up. Flip over the flatbread and cook for one more minute. Remove to a warm plate and repeat until you have used all the dough. Stack the cooked flatbreads on top of each other, covered with a clean tea towel, to keep them warm and soft.
Yoghurt and Mint Sauce
The essential kebab sauce
Preparation Time
15 minsTotal Time
15 minsCourse
SideCuisine
Middle-EasternIngredients
300ml Greek yoghurt
½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp caster sugar
20g fresh mint
1 tsp honey
Juice of half a lemon
Method
Make your yoghurt and mint sauce just before you are ready to serve. Wash and finely shred the mint leaves, discarding the stalks. Combine the chopped herbs with all the other ingredients in a bowl. Taste and add more lemon or honey if required.
When the lamb is ready, remove it from the pan and place it on a serving board or platter. Spoon over just a little of the cooking juices. The lamb will be very tender and soft, and will require very little carving. You can either carve it with a knife or pull it apart into small chunks with a couple of forks. Scatter it with some fresh parsley and serve it in the middle of the table, with the flatbreads and accompaniments, and let everyone tuck in and help themselves.
