Lamb Shawarma

Metly lamb cooked low and slow with sweet and smoky spices, piled into flatbreads and garnished with salad, pickles, chilli sauce and yoghurt is my Easter tradition.  

This dish does require some prep – you'll need to marinade the lamb the day (or even two days) before you plan to eat, but your efforts will be very well rewarded I promise. 

Serves 4 

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Ingredients 

100ml olive oil

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves

Juice of 1 lemon

3 tsp Shawarma 

1 tsp salt

½ leg of lamb (roughly 1kg/2lb 4oz)

500ml hot chicken stock

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To serve

2 tsp fresh mint, finely chopped 

4 flatbreads breads

Chilli sauce, as hot as you like it, for spreading on the pittas (optional)

Salad – whatever you fancy; I love crisp Iceberg, cucumber and sliced tomatoes with a squeeze of fresh lemon) 

Pickled Green Chillies

2 tbsp Yoghurt 

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Method 

Blend together the oil, onion, garlic, lemon juice, shawarma and salt with a stick blender.

Rub this over the lamb and marinate in the fridge in a sealed bag for 24 hours, or 48 hours if you can.

When it’s time to get cooking, preheat your oven to 140°C fan/ 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

Pour the hot chicken stock into a roasting dish and add your lamb and all of the marinade. Cover with foil and cook for 4 hours, basting every 30 minutes. If the stock dries out, top up with a little water.

When your lamb is about 10 minutes from being done, turn up the heat to 180°C, and take the foil off the lamb to let it get a bit of colour. This should take about 20-30 minutes but keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn or dry out. 

After the cooking time is done, let the lamb rest by covering it with foil for 10 minutes.

Serve on a platter in the centre of the table. I like to carve at the table and then let everyone dive in and build their own kebabs with the flatbreads, salad, mint, pickled chillies, chilli sauce and yoghurt.

This recipe is originally from my book – Spice Kitchen – which, if you’re looking for more Easter inspiration – also includes a gorgeous Lamb Raan dish and my version of Pimped-Up Scrambled Eggs.