UAE Chef Ramadan Recipe Series: Chef Ryan of Dish Catering Shares his Braised Lamb Shoulder Recipe

Welcome to V’s Kitchen’s UAE Chef Recipe Series.
Struggling with ideas on what to cook these days especially as we are all spending more time at home due to Covid-19? Well, over the next two months I will be sharing a selection of amazing recipes from some of the best chefs in the country to inspire you to get creative in the kitchen.

Since it’s Ramadan at the moment, I am starting off the series with some incredible iftar recipes by talented Chef Ryan Thomas of Dish Catering (a renowned catering and events company) who has over 12 years of fine dining kitchen experience. His work is influenced by chefs such as Pierre Gagnaire, Ferran Adria (elBulli) and Wylie Dufresne (WD50) to name a few.

Chef Ryan Thomas

Let’s have a quick tête-à-tête with Chef Ryan before we get started, shall we?:
~Your favourite country for food: Anywhere around the Mediterranean, but if I had to pick one it would be Italy.
~Your must-have kitchen tool: A sharp knife.
~The most bizarre thing you have eaten:Balut (fertilized duck egg) in Cambodia was probably the most bizarre, it wasn’t that bad, it was more the thought of it that puts you off.
~Your passions outside of food and cooking: Travelling and thinking about the next holiday I’m going on and where I’ll be eating. I’m always inspired trying new combinations of flavours found around the world. At home, I enjoy playing drums and watching Australian Rules Football.
~Your biggest cooking nightmare: Back in Melbourne when I was an apprentice, another chef and I had to walk from the main kitchen to one of the banquet halls with 150 entrées plates ready to go on a plate rack. As we went into a lift the rack somehow managed to fall over and 150 entrée plates smashed onto the elevator floor. Let’s just say, the executive chef was not impressed.

And now to get cooking!

Braised Lamb Shoulder, Rice Pilaf, Garlic and Honey Yoghurt

 

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Recipe type: Main Course & Sides

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Serves: 6

Ingredients

FOR THE MARINADE:

• 1.2kg boneless lamb shoulder
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 lemons, juiced
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 2 shallots
• 3cm ginger
• 2 tablespoon coriander, freshly ground
• 2 tablespoon cumin, freshly ground
• 2 tablespoon paprika
• ½ tablespoon turmeric
• ½ tablespoon garlic powder
• ½ tablespoon black pepper
• Little olive oil
  

FOR THE LAMB SHOULDER:

• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• ½ leek, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• Chicken stock
  

FOR THE RICE PILAF:

• 100g rice
• 200ml chicken stock
• 50g of butter
• Few strands of saffron
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• ½ tablespoon cumin seeds
  

FOR THE GARLIC & HONEY YOGHURT:

• 250g yoghurt
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• Chopped coriander to garnish
• Lemon juice to taste
• Honey to taste
• Salt and pepper
  

FOR THE GARNISH:

• Sliced chilli
• Chopped parsley
• Chopped coriander
  

Instructions

TO MARINATE THE LAMB:

1. Place the first six ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth.
   
2. Then add the next six ingredients to the mixture and mix altogether. Add a little olive oil to get a coating consistency. Season with salt.
   
3. Then rub the mixture all over the lamb shoulder.
   
4. Marinate the lamb overnight but two days are best.
   

TO MAKE THE LAMB SHOULDER:

1. Place the marinated lamb shoulder in deep oven tray and add the onion, celery, leek, carrots, garlic cloves.
   
2. Add chicken stock to the pan to just about cover the lamb.
   
3. Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and stir into the stock.
   
4. Wrap tightly with foil and cook for 5-6 hours at 150 Degrees Celsius.
   
5. Once cooked remove the lamb and reduce the liquid till it reaches a sauce consistency, then skim to remove excess oil.
   

TO MAKE THE RICE PILAF:

1. Melt 50g butter and sweat 1 finely chopped shallot and garlic clove.
   
2. Add ½ tablespoon of cumin seeds. Then add the rice and mix together.
   
3. Next add the few strands of saffron, followed by the stock and bring to a boil.
   
4. Cover with foil, turn down heat as low as possible and cook for 15 minutes. Then let stand for 5 minutes, remove the foil and gently fork through rice.
   

TO MAKE THE GARLIC & HONEY YOGHURT:

1. Hang 250g yoghurt overnight.
   
2. The next day, add 1 garlic clove, finely chopped to the yoghurt.
   
3. Add coriander to garnish and lemon juice to taste.
   
4. Add honey, salt and pepper to taste.
   
5. Mix well.
   

TO SERVE:

1. Place rice into the centre of a large sharing dish, place the lamb shoulder on top and place the sauce over the lamb.
   
2. Garnish with sliced chilli, parsley and coriander.
   
3. Serve with garlic and honey yoghurt.
   

Notes

The “Ramadan Nights by Dish” concept initially launched in 2016 as an innovative pop-up Iftar concept in Al Quoz and featured a bespoke fusion menu inspired by flavours of the Middle East. Due to Covid-19 the pop-up will not take place, however, its team will bring its unique Ramadan fusion menu to your home through its renowned home catering service. Please visit www.dish.ae for more info.

3.5.3226

Images: Dish Catering

Bon Appetit!

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