Spiced Lamb Shoulder with Pomegranate & Mint

Ingredients

• 1.8 kg bone-in lamb shoulder
• 300 ml lamb or chicken stock
• flatbreads and yogurt, to serve
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced into slivers
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp allspice
• 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 150 g pomegranate seeds
• 15g fresh mint, leaves picked
• Chopped salad, to serve

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a small dry pan over a medium heat and tip in the cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice and smoked paprika. Bloom for 30–60 seconds until the kitchen smells warm and toasted — raw spices taste dusty, bloomed spices taste of themselves. Pull off the heat the moment they're fragrant.
2. Tip the bloomed spices into a bowl with the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and a very generous pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Stir to a thick paste — season the lamb properly here, this is the only chance the crust gets.
3. Pat the lamb shoulder dry with kitchen paper (water means steam, steam means no crust) and pierce it all over with the tip of a sharp knife. Push a sliver of garlic deep into each cut so it melts into the meat as it roasts rather than scorching on the surface — exposed garlic on a long roast turns bitter, buried garlic turns sweet. Rub the spice paste over every crevice until the shoulder is completely coated.
4. Heat the oven to 160°C/fan 140°C. Sit the lamb in a large roasting tin, pour the stock around it (not over — you want the spice crust intact), drizzle over half the pomegranate molasses and cover the tin tightly with foil so no steam escapes.
5. Slow-roast for 3.5–4 hours. The tell: the meat should pull away from the bone with barely a nudge from a fork, and a skewer should slide through the thickest part with no resistance. If it's still tight, give it another 30 minutes — collagen takes the time it takes.
6. Remove the foil and turn the oven up to 200°C/fan 180°C. Brush the lamb with the remaining pomegranate molasses and return to the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes until deeply burnished, sticky and caramelised at the edges. Watch the last 5 minutes — molasses goes from glossy to scorched quickly.
7. Lift the lamb onto a warm board and rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, taste the pan juices and adjust — a pinch more salt, another grind of pepper. Taste, season, taste again. Adjust now, not at the table.
8. Shred the lamb coarsely with two forks, spooning over a ladle of the pan juices to keep it glossy. Pile onto a warm serving platter, scatter lavishly with the pomegranate seeds, shower with the torn mint leaves, and bring to the table with the warm flatbreads and a bowl of cold yoghurt for everyone to build their own.