Slow-cooked lamb shoulder with black mint sauce, chilli crème fraîche and tacos
Michael Bremner shows how versatile The Spice Tailor spice packets can be, using the Classic Butter Chicken pack to make meltingly soft, spiced lamb shoulder, served family-style in homemade tacos with a fresh black mint sauce and spicy rich chilli crème fraîche.
Ingredients
Lamb shoulder
- 1 lamb shoulder , weighing 1.5–2kg
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 packet of butter chicken sauce
- 250ml of water
Crème fraîche
- 250g of crème fraîche
- salt
Black mint sauce
- 20 black mint leaves , (if you can't get black mint you can use regular mint)
- 100ml of white wine vinegar
- 100ml of water
- 50g of sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
Tacos
- 500g of masa harina
- 350ml of hot water
- 5g of salt
Equipment
- Deep roasting tray
- Tortilla press or rolling pin
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3
2
Use a paring knife to cut the garlic into thick slices, then make small cuts in the lamb and push the garlic pieces into the flesh. Place the lamb shoulder into a large casserole dish or deep roasting tray
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 lamb shoulder , weighing 1.5–2kg
3
Rub the lamb shoulder all over with the base sauce from the packet. Remove the dried chilli from the spice blend in the packet and reserve for the crème fraîche. Toast the remaining spices in a dry pan over a medium heat until they become fragrant, then scatter over the top of the lamb
- 1 packet of butter chicken sauce
4
Mix the main sauce and the water together and pour over the lamb shoulder. Cover the tray with a layer of baking parchment, then cover with tin foil. Roast for 30 minutes, then turn down the heat to 140°C/gas mark 1, and continue to cook for 4–4 1/2 hours, until the lamb is extremely tender
- 250ml of water
5
To make the chilli crème fraîche, finely chop the dried chilli and combine with the crème fraîche. Season to taste and reserve in the fridge until ready to serve
- 250g of crème fraîche
- salt
6
To make the mint sauce, boil the vinegar, water and sugar together until they form a light syrup, then leave to cool. Finely chop the mint and add to the vinegar reduction with a pinch of salt. Taste, adjust the seasoning if necessary and reserve in the fridge until ready to serve
- 100ml of white wine vinegar
- 50g of sugar
- 100ml of water
- 20 black mint leaves , (if you can't get black mint you can use regular mint)
- 1 pinch of salt
7
Next make the tacos. Mix the masa harina with the hot water and salt until a dough forms – you may need to add a little more hot water. Divide into 20 balls and press out into tortillas, either using a tortilla press lined with two sheets of parchment paper, or a rolling pin. You can use store-bought tortillas if desired
- 5g of salt
- 500g of masa harina
- 350ml of hot water
8
Preheat a dry frying pan over a high heat and cook the tortillas for 2 minutes on each side, the tortillas should start to brown and blister
9
To serve, remove the lamb from the oven and baste well with the sauce. Serve family style with the crème fraîche, mint sauce and tacos at the centre of the table
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Slow-cooked lamb shoulder with black mint sauce, chilli crème fraîche and tacos
