Turkish lamb shoulder (kuzu tandir)

This simple Turkish lamb shoulder is flavoured with a rich marinade of garlic, spices and the secret ingredient, biber salçası, a Turkish capsicum paste concentrate that adds a unique depth of flavour to the lamb. Serve with zesty sumac onions, a mint yoghurt, pickles and warm pita breads for an easy-to-serve Turkish feast to share with friends and family.

• serves

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  4:30 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (or Turkish red pepper paste)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• Salt and black pepper
• 1.5 kg lamb shoulder, bone-in
• 1 head garlic, halved horizontally
• 1 cup water
• Pita (or flour tortillas), to serve
• 3 sliced tomatoes, to serve
• 1 head butter lettuce leaves, to serve
• Turkish pickled chillies, to serve

Sumac onions

• 2 red onions, thinly sliced into rounds
• 1 tsp sumac
• Salt
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Mint yoghurt 

• 2 cups loosely packed mint leaves, shredded
• 2 cups thick yoghurt
• Salt and black pepper
• Olive oil, for drizzling

Marinating time: 2 days

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, tomato paste, dried oregano, paprika and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Rub all over the lamb shoulder and marinate for up to 2 days, otherwise it can be cooked immediately if required.
   
2. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 180˚C (conventional). Place the garlic in the base of a large roasting dish with a lid and pour over 1 cup of water. Top with the lamb, cover with the lid (or with a large sheet of foil) and roast for 3-4 hours, or until the lamb is very tender. Remove the foil or lid in the last hour of cooking, adding a little water to the roasting dish if needed.
   
3. To make the sumac onions, in a medium bowl, toss the onions with the sumac and season generously with salt. Sprinkle with the parsley. To make the mint yoghurt, combine the ingredients in a medium bowl with a generous drizzle of olive oil.
   
4. Serve the Turkish lamb shoulder with a platter of pita bread, sliced tomatoes, lettuce leaves and pickled chilli with the sumac onions and mint yoghurt on the side.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.