Ingredients
- 4 white onions, 3 chopped, 1 peeled and sliced into wedges
- 2 heads of garlic, 1 head peeled and chopped, 1 head sliced in half sideways
- 2cm (25g) ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1.9 – 2.1 kg bone-in lamb shoulder (Source from your local butcher if you have one)
- 3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
- 20g parsley
- 2 TBSP Bahārāt Gulf of Arabia by Camelēr Spice Co.
- 60ml olive oil
- 2 ¼ tsp salt
- 800ml chicken stock
To serve
- Bahārāt-spiced pickled onions (see separate recipe)
- Bahārāt-spiced tahini yogurt (see separate recipe)
- 2 Tomatoes, finely chopped
- 80g pomegranate seeds
- 10g parsley, picked and finely chopped
- 5g mint, picked and finely chopped
- 2 Lemons (cut into quarter wedges)
- Couscous or bulgur, cooked
- Flatbread or pitta bread
Method
- Start by making the spice paste: Into a food processor, add the chopped onion, garlic and ginger. Pulse until finely minced, then add the parsley and spices. Pulse for a few seconds. Scrape down the sides, then add the vinegar, oil and salt. Pulse to form a coarse paste then set aside.
- Pat the lamb dry and pierce liberally all over with a small, sharp knife. Add the spice paste and coat generously.
- If you want to cook it right away, please see step 4 & 5. However, preferably leave marinated lamb in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight for best results. Making sure to take the lamb out of the fridge about an hour before going into the oven.
- Preheat the oven to a 160°C/140°C fan.
- Add the remaining onion wedges and head of garlic into the centre of a large roasting tray and pour over the chicken stock. Set the lamb on top of the vegetables, cover tightly with foil and bake for 4 hours.
- Remove from the oven, discard the foil and bake for 90 minutes more, increasing the oven temperature to 160°C fan towards the last 30 minutes of cooking time.
- While the lamb is in the oven, prepare the spiced tahini yoghurt. Put the yoghurt, tahini, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of water, the Baharat Gulf of Arabia spice blend and ¼ teaspoon of salt into a bowl and whisk well to combine, set aside in the fridge.
- The lamb is ready when it is fork-tender and easily pulls away from the bone. Set aside to cool slightly, about 15 minutes, before using two forks to roughly shred the lamb directly in the pan, gathering as much of its juices as possible and set aside for serving.
- When ready to serve, transfer the shredded lamb, onions, garlic cloves and any of the pan juices on a bed of couscous or bulgur. Layout all the various condiments, and the Baharat-spiced pickled onions and tahini yogurt .
- Another way to serve is to omit the grains and let everyone make up their own shawarma with warmed flatbreads or pitta. Arguably this is more fun for the kids and adults alike.