INGREDIENTS
Shawarma paste
1 tsp black peppercorns
3 cloves
½ tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 star anise
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp ground fenugreek
1 ½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground ginger
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sumac, ground
1 tsp cinnamon, ground
3 cm piece ginger (15 g), grated
2 garlic cloves
½ cup coriander leaves and stems
60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
Lamb
4 lamb rumps, cap off and trimmed of sinew
Neutral cooking oil
Fine sea salt
Coriander, to serve
Flatbread
500 g (3 ⅓ cups) plain flour
500 g (1 ¾ cups) yoghurt
3 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt flakes
2 tbsp seeds (sesame, poppy seeds etc.)
Tomato and tea sauce
1 kg ripe tomatoes, halved, stalks retained
1 tbsp salt flakes
2 tbsp lapsang souchong loose-leaf tea
1 tsp white sugar, optional
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, optional
Miele Accessories
METHOD
Shawarma paste
- In a small frying pan, toast the black pepper, cloves, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and star anise on medium heat, induction setting 6 for approximately 5 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Allow to cool and then grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
- In a small food processor, add the spice powder with the remaining ingredients and process until a paste is formed.
Lamb
- Start the lamb 1 day in advance.
- Rub half the shawarma paste over the lamb and place in a vacuum sealing bag. Place into the vacuum sealing drawer and Vacuum on level 3 and Seal on level 3. Allow to marinate overnight in the fridge.
- Remove the lamb from the fridge and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.
- Place the sealed bag into a perforated steam container in the steam oven. Sous-vide at 62°C for 45 minutes.
- Remove the lamb from the bag and drain any juices. Lightly oil and season with fine sea salt.
- Preheat the griddle plate on medium-high heat, induction setting 7 for 7 minutes.
- Chargrill the lamb for 4 minutes on both sides.
Flatbread
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl until combined.
- Rest for 30 minutes on the bench at room temperature.
- Heavily flour the bench, as it’s a sticky dough.
- Divide into 10 balls and roll 5 mm thick, sprinkle with seeds and roll them into the dough.
- Heat a heavy pan or griddle plate on medium heat, induction setting 5 and allow to heat for 3 minutes. Turn the heat up to medium-high, induction setting 7 and allow to heat for a further 3 minutes.
- Cook the flatbread for 3 minutes on both sides, until blistered and charred.
Tomato and tea sauce
- In a blender, add the tomatoes and salt and process on high speed for at least 2 minutes until the seeds have broken down and it’s a smooth puree.
- In a large saucepan, add the tomato puree, tomato stalks and loose-leaf tea. Bring to the boil on high heat, induction setting 9 and stir every couple of minutes for 10 minutes.
- Pass through a large double mesh sieve and press all the puree through, scraping the bottom of the sieve to get as much of the puree through as possible. Discard the loose-leaf tea and tomato stalks left in the sieve.
- Return the puree to a clean saucepan and continue to boil on high heat, induction setting 8 for 5 minutes, or until thickened.
- The sauce can be passed through a fine sieve again for a smooth finish if desired.
- Depending on the tomatoes, the sauce may require a little sugar to balance the taste.
- To enrich the sauce, a little extra virgin olive oil can be emulsified in.
To serve
- Slice the lamb thickly against the grain and season the cut sides with salt flakes.
- Serve with the sauce and coriander at room temperature.
Hints and tips
- This shawarma paste recipe makes more than you need. The remaining paste can be used for vegetables, whole roast chicken, or frozen for later use.
- If lapsang souchong can’t be found, then loose-leaf English breakfast tea can be used. Reduce to 2 teaspoons and a few drops of hickory smoke liquid.
- The quality of the tomato sauce will depend on the quality of the tomatoes. Roma tomatoes are great, however you need to use a very ripe tomato, so it’s best to select the tomato variety based on seasonality and ripeness.