Name: Shane Delia’s 12-hour roast lamb with pistachio and green-olive tabbouleh
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 720 min
Total time: 765 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 30 gm (¼ cup) cumin seeds; 2 garlic heads; 2 tbsp sumac; Zested rind of 3 lemons; 2 tbsp sea salt flakes; 1 lamb leg (2.4kg), shank end detached; Green-olive tabbouleh; 200 gm pistachio kernels; 100 gm coarse burghul; 1 cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped; 1/3 cup (loosely packed) mint leaves, coarsely chopped; 150 gm Sicilian green olives, pitted, crushed; 4 garlic cloves, crushed; Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon; 2 tbsp olive oil

Shane Delia’s 12-hour roast lamb with pistachio and green-olive tabbouleh

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for 12-hour roast lamb with pistachio and green-olive tabbouleh by Shane Delia from Melbourne restaurant Maha.

Shane Delia: 12-hour roast lamb with pistachio and green-olive tabbouleh

Serves 6

Prep

45M

Cook

12H

Total

12H 45M

“This is the heart and soul of Maha; it sums up what we’re about. Good product, simple and humble cooking, maximum flavour. Try to find a lamb with a good covering of fat because there are no added fats in the cooking process and this will help it to stay moist.” You’ll need to begin this recipe 3 days ahead.

Ingredients

30 gm (¼ cup) cumin seeds

2 garlic heads

2 tbsp sumac

Zested rind of 3 lemons

2 tbsp sea salt flakes

1 lamb leg (2.4kg), shank end detached

Green-olive tabbouleh

200 gm pistachio kernels

100 gm coarse burghul

1 cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup (loosely packed) mint leaves, coarsely chopped

150 gm Sicilian green olives, pitted, crushed

4 garlic cloves, crushed

Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp olive oil

Method

Main

1.Dry-roast cumin seeds, cool slightly, then coarsely pound in a mortar and pestle and set aside. Pound garlic in a mortar and pestle with a pinch of sea salt until a coarse paste forms, add cumin seeds, sumac, lemon rind and sea salt flakes and grind until a paste forms.

2.Score lamb with a sharp knife and rub garlic paste over lamb. Place in an airtight non-reactive container and refrigerate to marinate (2 days).

3.Preheat oven to 110C. Transfer lamb to a roasting pan and roast, basting occasionally, until the meat falls from the bone and the outside is golden brown and sticky (12 hours). Remove from oven and keep warm.

4.For green-olive tabbouleh, increase oven to 170C. Scatter pistachios on an oven tray and roast until golden (4-6 minutes). Cool, then coarsely crush and set aside in a large bowl. Meanwhile, place burghul in a bowl, cover completely with warm water and stand until tender (30-40 minutes). Drain well, then add to pistachios with remaining ingredients, season to taste and serve with warm lamb.