Slow Roast Lamb With Ancho Chilli And Garlic Marinade

Spring is finally here in Western Australia and lamb is back on the menu!

This is a great recipe of you are feeding people who aren’t too keen on chilli, bags of flavour and not too spicy. It is also slow cooked so, ideal if you are entertaining as you really have very little to do once the lamb is in the oven.

It can easily feed a bigger crowd, just add more side dishes but the leftovers are divine too, I’ll share my Mexican Stir Fried Rice recipe soon using leftovers from this lamb!

I serve this with steamed rice, fresh salsa, salad, guacamole, tostades and refried beans, that way everyone can have as little or as much as they like!

Serves 10.

2.5kg leg of lamb

3 red onions, peeled and sliced into 1cm rings

3 dried ancho chillies

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

200mls water, just under boiling point

8 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons ground coriander

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1.5 litres chicken stock

Method

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Centigrade. Line the base of a roasting tin with the onion rings to create  a rack to keep the meat off the base, initially.

Prepare the marinade now. Place the chillies in a heat proof bowl, add the nearly boiled water and cider vinegar. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Once the chillies have soaked, carefully lift them from the water, remove the stem and seeds and return to the water. Now add all of the remaining ingredients except the onions, lamb and stock.

Using a stick blender, whizz the marinade to a thick paste.

Take the leg of lamb, using a sharp knife, stab it multiple times to at least 5cm at its thickest part.

Pour the marinade over and push it down into the cuts, make sure all of the meat is covered, underside too.

Lay the lamb onto the bed of onion rings, pour the chicken stock around the lamb, seal completely with foil and slide into the oven.

Bake for 6 hours, turn the oven up to 200 degrees Centigrade, spoon off as much of the fat as you can and return the lamb to the oven to crisp up a little, around 30 minute

Now, using tongs, pull off large chunks of meat and drop them into the pan juices, as you come across the bones remove them all. You should now have a pan of meat, juices and onions, I give this a gentle stir and then serve.

 

Black Bean and Chorizo Soup

The  entire family loves this soup, smoky with a little chilli it reminds me of a bean chilli and with that in mind I serve it with a little grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream with corn chips on the side, possibly why the boys like it so much!

I use the stock from the Lime, Oregano and Smoky Chipotle Chilli Roast Chicken recipe in my blog, this stock instantly gives a hint of chilli to the soup.

If you are using regular stock add 2 teaspoons chipotle chilli powder and 1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika at the same time as adding the ancho chilli.

To make this vegetarian, omit the chorizo, use vegetable stock, 2 teaspoons chipotle chilli and 5 teaspoons smoked paprika.

Serves 8-10 so, I freeze the leftovers for another day.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped finely

100g chorizo, skinned and chopped finely

1 large dried ancho chilli

1 x 800g tin, chopped tomatoes

1.5l chicken stock

2 x 425g tins black beans

1 x 400g kidney beans

3 tablespoons tomato paste

Method

Bring the kettle to the boil.

Pop the chilli into a heat proof bowl and pour the freshly boiled water over.

Allow to stand for 30 minutes.

Remove the chilli, I take the skin off and deseed at this point and chop it finely. Set aside.

In a large pan, heat the oil over a medium heat, add the onion and garlic and cook until softened.

Add the chorizo and cook for a further 5 minutes until it has released its fat.

Pour in the tomatoes, ancho chilli, beans, tomato paste and stock, bring to the boil.

Allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve with grated cheese, sour cream and avocado slices with tortilla chips on the side