lamb shawarma
i’m on a bit of a nigel slater kick at the moment. as well as having a number of his books (the kitchen diaries is my favourite), many of the weekly recipes which he writes for the observer newspaper get torn out and stuck into my recipe folders.
flicking through these folders is a real pleasure and nigel slater’s recipes always jump out due to his lyrical and passionate writing style as well as their mouth-watering tendencies. this lamb shawarma recipe is an old favourite and can be made with either raw or cooked meat. obviously it can also be adapted to use with different types of meat, beef and chicken being obvious variations
i love this served in warm pitta breads with salad, sliced tomatoes, chillis (jalapenos or the wonderful long hot spicy chillies which you can get in greek or turkish delis) and garlicky yoghurt or sour cream.
nigel slater's lamb shawarma (serves 4)
800g raw lamb shoulder meat, thinly sliced*
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 lemon, juiced
125ml extra virgin oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
fresh thyme
salt and black pepper
mix the meat with the onions, lemon juice, olive oil, spices, thyme, salt and pepper. marinate in the refrigerator for two to three hours, stirring occasionally. sauté the meat for a couple of minutes until done. serve hot with warm pitta breads and salad.
* if using cooked meat, such as that from a leftover roast, i halve the amount of oil then fry together all the ingredients, except the meat, until the onions soften. i then add the meat and heat through.
other nigel slater recipes:
- lemon and rosewater-frosted pistachio and orange cake (may 2008)
- pork ribs with aniseed and garlic (april 2008)
- chickpeas with pumpkin, lemongrass and coriander (april 2008)
- chicken with black-eyed beans (december 2007)
- spiced aubergine (november 2007)
- cherry and almond cake (july 2007)
- smoked mackerel and parmesan on toast (april 2007)