Summer Sunday lamb with saffron rice.

I had some friends round recently for Sunday lunch. Given half a chance (and four hours), I will usually choose to braise meat, but I'll concede it's not the most summery of methods. To make my choice cut of lamb shoulder a little more seasonal, I chose flavours forever associated in my mind with long evenings on the Mediterranean: oregano and anise, cumin and coriander, chilli and saffron.

Prep

On the Friday before, I toasted cumin, coriander and fennel seeds and ground them by hand, before combining with lots of dried oregano and Kosher salt. I rubbed this mixture into the lamb and left the salt to quietly do its work until Sunday morning.

IMG_20190622_125552464_edited

IMG_20190622_130605448_edited

IMG_20190622_131157782_edited

IMG_20190622_131210571_edited

IMG_20190622_131545968_edited

I made saffron butter by dissolving a pinch of saffron strands into a tablespoon of warm milk, then beating this liquid into butter. It worked perfectly well from a flavour perspective, but the milk did not disperse evenly through the butter for obvious reasons. Next time I will use melted butter to take up the saffron.

IMG_20190622_181446713_edited

IMG_20190622_183245758_HDR

Braise

On the day, I fried some red onions and whole garlic cloves until the onion was soft. I threw in a random selection of dried chillis and chilli flakes I had in stock and added the excess herbs and spices from the lamb itself. I also added a couple of star anise as I have found that fennel seeds on their own can be a surprisingly insipid form of anise. I decided to use white wine as the liquid - if I'm honest that was simply because there had been a half-bottle in the fridge for over a week and it needed using up. I added a small amount of salt but as the lamb had been properly seasoned I didn't want to risk over-doing it.

I had been sensible enough to ask the butcher to break the lamb's foreshank for me, but even so it only just fitted into my largest Le Creuset (note to self: buy more humongous casserole). Instead I used a frying pan to caramelise the flesh and fat, before transferring the lamb to the dutch oven for braising. I cooked this for about three and a half hours at 150 degrees.

IMG_20190623_084720382_edited

IMG_20190623_114030176_edited

IMG_20190623_114142448_edited

Serving

Once the lamb was cooked, I removed it from the oven and let it rest while I prepared the rice. I steamed long grain in salted water, drained it and poured boiling water through until the starch ran clear (this helps it stay warm without sticking together). I then beat saffron butter through the rice until it was a fragrant gleaming yellow.

I pulled the lamb off the bone with a couple of forks and piled it on top of the rice, along with a ladle of the braising liquid, and finished the dish with a few torn mint leaves.

Overall, I particularly liked the balance of anise and oregano. The chilli imparted a subtle warmth but if I were cooking for people I knew loved spicy food I could definitely turn up the heat. The saffron butter rice was sensational: I will definitely be making that again. With more forethought I could have turned the braising liquid into gravy but it wasn't necessary for the overall meal. I also quite fancy the idea of using ouzo as the cooking liquid for a more overtly Greek influence.