Spiced Lamb Leg with Flatbread and Cucumber Yogurt Recipe
Spiced Lamb
Serves 4
1 pound boneless lamb leg, cut into 3 even size pieces
Marinade
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
1 clove of garlic
Salt
1 tablespoon each of cumin, coriander and fennel seed. Toasted and pounded in a mortar and pestle
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon ground mild red pepper: paprika, espelette, or silk chili work well here
2 tablespoons water
Olive oil
To make the marinate, pound the garlic and oregano in a mortar and pestle with a pinch of salt until you have a paste. Add the cumin, coriander, fennel, turmeric, black pepper and olive oil. In a small bowl, mix the ground red pepper with water until you have a thick paste and add it to the rest of the spices. The spices should be pretty thick.
Season the lamb first with salt, then smear on all the marinade. Leave the lamb to marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or even better, overnight. Pull the lamb from the refrigerator to temper 1 hour before grilling.
Grill the lamb over medium heat, until the outside is nice and charred and the meat has a give when poked, about 6-8 minutes on each side depending on thickness. Lamb leg is best when cooked medium rare. Or, you can cook the lamb in a cast iron pan on the stove and it will be just as delicious. If the lamb is getting too much color and isn’t fully cooked, throw it in a 350 degree oven to finish cooking. Let the lamb rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Slice the lamb thinly to serve, pouring over all the juices and spices. Serve with the flatbread, cucumber yogurt, halved cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs, like cilantro, mint and dill.
Homemade Flatbread
Makes 4 big or 6 small flatbreads
3/4 cup warm water
2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Whisk together all the ingredients and let them rest for 15 minutes.
Add in the following to the mixture:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
Mix in 1/4 cup yogurt
Knead the dough for 2 minutes, then let it rest for 10 minutes covered with plastic. Knead it again for another minute and put into an oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic, and leave to rise on the counter for 2 hours. If you’re making this a day in advance, now is when you can put the dough into the refrigerator overnight. Pull the dough from the refrigerator 2 hours before you plan to cook the flatbreads.
Roll out the dough into 4 to 6 balls and dust with flour. Cover and leave to rise for one hour until cooking.
Use your hands or a rolling pin to stretch or roll the dough out until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Heat a pan on medium high, add a nub of butter and cook flatbreads on both sides until golden brown. Alternatively, you can place the dough right onto an oiled grill.
Cucumber Yogurt
Makes about 2 cups
2 medium cucumbers, grated on the large holes of a box grater
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus a bit more for the cucumbers
1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt
1/2 clove garlic, microplaned
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped mint
Juice from half a lemon
Massage the cucumber with a few pinches of salt and let it juice out, releasing a lot of its liquid for about 5 minutes. Use your hands to squeeze the grated cucumber to leave behind more liquid and rough chop the pulp. Add the cucumber to the yogurt, along with the garlic, mint, lemon and sea salt. Taste and adjust seasoning. This dish benefits from sitting for at least 30 minutes before eating to allow time for the flavors to meld and marry together.