Name: Slow-roast Persian lamb with pomegranate salad
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 3 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h 50 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses; 1 tsp ground cumin; juice 1 lemon; 1 tbsp olive oil; 2 garlic cloves minced; 1 onion roughly chopped; 1 shoulder of lamb weighing about 1.6kg, lightly scored; seeds 2 pomegranates; handful flat-leaf parsley leaves; 100g bag watercress; 1 small red onion finely diced; 1 tbsp olive oil; flatbreads to serve

Slow-roast Persian lamb with pomegranate salad

For the lamb

4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tsp ground cumin
juice 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
minced
1 onion
roughly chopped
1 shoulder of lamb
weighing about 1.6kg, lightly scored

For the salad

seeds 2 pomegranates
handful flat-leaf parsley
leaves
100g bag watercress
1 small red onion
finely diced
1 tbsp olive oil
flatbreads
to serve

Method

step 1
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. In a small bowl, mix the molasses with the cumin, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Scatter the onion over a casserole dish or a deep roasting tin. Place the lamb on top of the onions. Pour the glaze over the lamb. Rinse the bowl out with about 200ml water, then pour it around – not over – the lamb.
step 2
Cover the dish with a lid or the tin with a large piece of foil. Roast the lamb, undisturbed, for 3 hrs, then remove the lid or foil and continue to roast for 30 mins to give the lamb colour. When the lamb has had its time, pour off the juices, remove as much fat as possible, then pour the juices back over the lamb.
step 3
Just before serving, gently toss all the salad ingredients together. Serve the lamb with its sauce, the salad and some warmed flatbreads.