After looking for something new to add to our meal plan this week in the run up to Christmas and knowing we will be having a huge amount of turkey and white meats in the coming few weeks we decided to try a new trend in meal style. Lamb is something we wouldn’t normally eat other than on Sundays and the Middle Eastern influence of herbs, spices, mint and pomegranate sounded delicious and well worth a try!
At the moment there seems to be 4 big food trends and Leisure have highlighted them in a campaign called Tribe to Table. The 4 trends are Veggie (eating root to leaf and cooking with all edible parts of the plant), Meat (Middle eastern flavours & cooking methods ), Fish (Oysters & razor clams are often overlooked when it comes to home-cooking) and Baking (Sugar free or refined sugar free).
As much as I love baking I’m not sure if i can go sugar free and hubby is not a lover of seafood, we are huge meat lovers so we are definitely part of the Meat Tribe!!
How to make Sticky Pomegranate Glazed Lamb!
Ingredients:
1.2kg Lamb
1 Lemon (juice)
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Dried Oregano
2 tbsp Honey
2 Red Onions, cut into wedges
1 ltr Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranate Seeds
Mint leaves
Flat breads
Combine the cumin, cinnamon, oregano and lemon juice in a mortar and pestle. Spread onto the lamb and place in a deep sided roasting tin on top of the wedged onions. Pop into the fridge for 1 hour.
Pour over the pomegranate juice. Cover tin with foil. Bake at 150 degrees c for 4 hours.
Drain off the juice into a heavy based pan and place lamb back into the oven at 200 degrees for a further 20 minutes. Add the honey to the pan of juice and heat on high, stirring until reduced and a thick glossy sauce.
Remove lamb from the oven and place on a serving platter with the onions, pour over the reduced pomegranate sauce. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and chopped mint leaves.
Serve in the flat breads and enjoy!
This is a delicious alternative to beef or chicken over the festive period, simple to make and a fabulous Middle Eastern dish that is sure to impress!
There is something about cooking with herbs and spices that can transform a simple cut of meat into something special. We have never really tried Middle Eastern food before but after having a go at this simple recipe it certainly wont be our last. The addition of the pomegranate adds a deliciously sweet hint to the sauce and reducing it down to a sticky glaze creates a very moreish coating for the lamb and onions! This would be amazing as a main meal with cous cous and mint yogurt!
This dish could even be made even more suitable for Christmas dinner if you are wanting a change from turkey this year by substituting the pomegranate for cranberry juice!
What tribe are you part of?
XOXO
Debbie
This is a collaborative post with Leisure Cooker
