Rolled lamb with Jerusalem hummus
I learnt to make hummus without olive oil during a trip to Amsterdam. For extra flavour, parsley is added to the water. Take your time and prepare this dish over two days.
Serves 6 - 8
Click here for the downloadable recipe.
INGREDIENTS
350 g dried chickpeas
45 ml olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, sliced into rings
4 stalks celery, chopped
3 bay leaves
30 ml fennel seeds
1 x 250 g-packet bacon, chopped
1 deboned shoulder of lamb, rolled and tied with kitchen string
2 x 400 g tins cherry tomatoes
250 ml beef stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
250 ml tahini paste
1 handful fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
juice and grated rind of 2 lemons
150 ml water
good olive oil for serving
METHOD
The night before: Preheat the oven to 100 °C.
Cover the chickpeas with cold water and soak overnight. (Yes, I know this is a lot of effort, but believe me when I say you’ll taste the difference!) Heat the olive oil in a large stovetop-to-oven casserole.
Add the onions, garlic, carrots, celery and bay leaves and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add the fennel seeds and bacon and fry for another 5–8 minutes or until the bacon starts to brown.
Place the rolled lamb on top of the vegetables.
Add the tomatoes and stock, season very well with salt and pepper, cover the casserole and bake the lamb overnight or for about 8 hours in the oven.
The next day: Drain the soaked chickpeas, place them in a saucepan and season with 5 ml salt.
Cover with water, bring to the boil and cook for about 30 minutes until soft. Drain and leave to cool. Place the cooked chickpeas in a food processor along with the tahini, parsley, garlic and lemon juice and rind.
Add the 150 ml water and pulse at high speed until it forms a smooth purée. Season very well with salt and pepper. Set aside. Remove the rolled lamb from the casserole and cut off the string.
Tear the meat into large pieces. Spoon the hummus onto a large serving platter and spread out. Place the pieces of meat on top of the hummus and spoon the pan juices over the meat. Drizzle with olive oil.
