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Oct
Yesterday, I cooked two things I had never cooked before: a whole baby lamb and stuffed tripe (post coming up). If I’d wanted whole lambs in the past, I relied on Mohamed at Al Waha to provide them. And if I’d wanted stuffed tripe, there was my wonderful mother who never minded spending the time cleaning and stuffing both stomach and intestines whenever I visited. But my mother is far away and I wanted to roast my own lamb and stuff tripe, so, I took the plunge and prepared my own.
And with my friend Naomi, who was visiting London, we went up to Green Lanes, to Andy, the most wonderful man and butcher, to get the lamb, tripe and other offal including two beautiful heads that were remarkably small and although skinned, in much better condition than those you get at nearby Turkish butchers.
The lamb had been frozen — I did not give Andy enough notice — but it was a proper baby with tiny legs and shoulders, and a lovely thin waist. It could have won a beauty pageant! Andy had wrapped it in caul which was not only pretty but also good for keeping it moist during roasting. We carried it away, Naomi helping me until she got to the tube station, and then on my own until I got home. Luckily it was only 4 or 5 kilograms, so, not too heavy. And here is how it looked splayed out on my chopping board.
I curled it back up and stuffed it in my refrigerator wishing I had more space in there for me to already rub it with the marinade. The longer it is left to marinate, the better. But the upshot was that as I looked at the picture of the lamb, I had the rather amusing idea of taking another shot of it with an action man I had lying around. The proportions are amazing. The action man looks like a child petting an Alsatian dog, albeit one without a head!
Anyway, to go back to my cooking, I prepared my marinade with all kinds of spices, including bzar (a heady Emirati spice mix) and saffron, crushed garlic and rose water and rubbed the lamb inside and out with it. I forgot to keep some marinade for the heads which was a shame but the heads were really there for ceremony and not for eating although I have to say that from now on I will be roasting them. They come out of the oven a lot more presentable than when boiled.
Also, I had soaked the heads for a few hours which was a good move because this cleaned them of all the coagulated blood and made them look more appetizing, at least for me. I let the lamb marinate for a couple of hours which is really the minimum then roasted it at 220º C for 1 1/2 hours. I should have laid some foil loosely over it half way through to stop the caul from burning. Still, as you can see from the top picture, it came out of the oven looking pretty stunning. And it was delicious despite having been frozen. I was too exhausted at the end of dinner to clear up and here is what I woke up to the following morning. I guess I am one of very few to would consider this a pretty sight!
Marinade for the Baby Lamb
good pinch saffron threads
1/2 cup rose water
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon Emirati spice mix (bzar)
½ tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground
½ tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground dried limes
4 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
juice of half a lemon
sea salt
Soak the saffron in the rose water for 15 minutes. Then mix all the spices, the crushed garlic, the lemon juice and the saffron rose water in a bowl. Add salt to taste. Use to rub the baby lamb inside and out and let sit for at least two hours to absorb the flavours.
Tagged : baby lamb, baldwins, caul, lamb's heads, naomi duguid 
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There is 12 comments on this post
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October 12, 2011 at 12:33 pm
I think Aunties should cook for those who look up them, wide-eyed with greed and amazement, a baby lamb of their own? 😉 Heheh!
Not so keen on tripe though. I try it, always hoping to like, but never been converted yet!
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October 13, 2011 at 6:01 pm
Your lamb marinade sounds delicious. It must have tasted fantastic. The photo of the heads with he tongues poking out does make me laugh, reminds of of many a still life I painted for art A level!
Cannot wait to read the tripe recipe. I have never tried it but would love to as I’m curious about it’s texture more than anything….
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October 13, 2011 at 6:08 pm
the marinade is very good. and the tripe too 🙂
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October 14, 2011 at 2:23 am
one day i will make another baby lamb and will invite a few friends including adopted nieces 🙂
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October 14, 2011 at 4:35 am
I love how you’ve added the heads in your pictures.
I too, wish to make a whole animal (yet to decide on which) one day! Your marinade sounds fantastic! I’ll have to try this recipe sometime.
I look forward to the tripe recipe.
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October 14, 2011 at 4:44 am
tripe recipe coming up today 🙂
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October 14, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Adopted nieces feeling quite excited.
I wish I could learn to love tripe, as on the rare occasions when we see it, it’s very inexpensive.
We have a fab local store, about 1 minute walk from our house, that sells sheeps heads, and I keep meaning to buy and then work out how to cook them.
Mostly because they are inexpensive and look awesome and I suspect there would be much tastiness.
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October 14, 2011 at 2:13 pm
you should take the plunge and try to like both kavey 🙂
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October 16, 2011 at 3:03 pm
I always try to like everything, so even now, at 40, I still try red wine, but even the ones people say are smooth and fabulous, they all taste like vinegar to me. But I love the smell so I try regular, just in case!
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November 5, 2011 at 11:49 am
What! No one ate the eyes-that’s the best part! Or at least the lamb cheeks! Hope the tongue didn’t go to waste!
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November 5, 2011 at 12:10 pm
i am afraid it did go to waste but there was a lot on the table: brains, testicles, stuffed tripe and biryani rice. plus rose water ice cream to finish. i meant to eat the heads the next day but was still too full from the dinner, so, they went to waste. repeating the feast this coming week and hoping that nothing will go to waste 🙂
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January 22, 2012 at 12:04 pm
Thank you for the great post. Baby lamb is something I can’t get in my region. I really enjoy all of your butcher posts.