Perfect recipe for Eid: Lamb Amaredine by Karim Khoury

• 1 Shoulder of Lamb (approx 2 KG)

• A sprig of rosemary

• 1 Kg Shallots 

• 1 Kg of onions 

• 3 to 4 garlic bulbs 

• 1 Kg of carrots

• 4 tablespoon of mustard

• 1 tablespoon whole Cardamom 

• 1 tablespoon star anis

• 1 tablespoon dried garlic slices

• 1 tablespoon dried Sumac 

• 1 tablespoon black pepper

• 1 tablespoon coarse salt 

• Olive Oil

• 1 glass (250ml) of grape vinegar

• 1/2 of an orange sliced 

• half a sheet of dried apricot, amareddine

• 1.5 Kg of potatoes 

1. On a large chopping board, place your meat, and season well with the a pinch of salt and some pepper, put all the spices in a mortar and pestle, and pound them coarsely. Pour them over the meat, ensuring they are all coating the meat nicely

2. Transfer the meat to a ziploc bag, or a large airtight bowl, pour half the quantity of the vinegar in a glass and dilute the mustard in it. Then pour over the meat and crush the rosemary sprig and place under the meat as well. Add the orange slices, 3 to 4 shallots sliced thinly. Drizzle with olive oil and leave to rest from 2 hours to overnight.

3. When you want to prepare the meat, preheat the oven to 160 degrees, take the meat out of the fridge and start on the veggies. Peel and chop the carrots into big 5 cm chunks, wash and scrub the potatoes, peel and chop the onions and shallots into 4 quarters.

4. Place your meat in the middle of your baking dish make sure the meat does not have large pieces of spice mix on it, and place the rest of the vegetables around your meat. Pour the marinating liquid through a sieve and pour it around the meat.

5. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, this will help break down the onions into a sweet treat.

6. Cover the top of the meat with a piece of the amareddine, or if your’re Not a fan of the sweetness, place a few strips on the meat for decoration.

7. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the veggies, cover well with foil and move it to the oven. Bake for at least 2 hours covered, or until the meat falls off when poked with a fork.

8. Wash and scrub the potatoes, leave the skin on, toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. Take your garlic heads, slice the top part of the bulb, (top 10%) drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle some salt and pepper on top
   Place in a large baking tray where they are not crowded and have space to move
   And move to oven when there is an hour left, your potatoes are done when they are nice and golden, and your garlic slightly caramelised.

9. Remove the foil from the meat for the last 30 minutes to allow your meat to brown nicely and serve with the roasted potatoes.

Tips

The cool thing about this recipe is that it can prepared a few days in advance or it can be done on the same day; a few days in advance means richer more complex flavours and a softer meat. Same day means more aesthetically pleasant vegetables.