INGREDIENTS
1 boned lamb leg, about 2 kg (4 lb 8 oz), skin on
flatbread, salad leaves, yoghurt and lemon wedges to serve
Spice paste
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick broken into small pieces
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 bunch coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) olive oil
METHOD
1 Start by making the spice paste. Heat a small frying pan over high heat. Add the cumin, peppercorns and cinnamon. Shake the pan and cook for just a few seconds, until the spices smoke and pop.
2 Tip into a bowl and stir in the paprika, ginger and salt. Allow to cool, then grind the spices to a rough powder, using a spice mill or a mortar and pestle. Stir in the coriander, garlic and oil to make a paste. Rub the paste all over the lamb and refrigerate for 6 hours, or overnight.
3 Preheat the oven to 220˚C (425˚F). Sit the lamb, skin side up, in a roasting tin. Roast for 20 minutes, by which time the spice rub will be aromatic.
4 Add 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) cold water to the tin, pouring it all around the lamb, not over it (you don’t want to wash off the seasonings). Cover the tin firmly with a couple of layers of foil. Turn the oven down to 150˚C (300˚F) and bake for 4 hours, or until the lamb is fall-apart tender.
5 Remove the lamb from the oven. Leave covered for 20-30 minutes, to rest and cool slightly. Shred the lamb using tongs or forks, or serve it in large chunks, wrapped in flatbread, with salad leaves, yoghurt and lemon wedges.
