Pomegranate Glazed Lamb Lollipops With Feta Tzatziki Recipes

ROAST LAMB WITH POMEGRANATE GLAZE

Steps:

• Place a roasting pan in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. To make the glaze: combine all ingredients except lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and strain. Stir in the lemon juice.
• To make the lamb: rub the lamb with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the pan, fatty side down, and roast for 10 minutes. Baste with glaze, turn over and baste the other side. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted reads 125 degrees. Let stand several minutes before slicing. Serve with extra glaze.

LAMB AND FETA SLIDERS WITH MINT AIOLI

Steps:

• Preheat a grill to indirect heat, low setting, approximately 325 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, add the lamb, garlic, red onion and feta. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands. Form the mixture into 16 small patties (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and 1 1/4-inch thick). Use your index finger to press a shallow dimple into the center of each patty. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to grill.
• In a small bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar, pomegranate molasses and soy sauce.
• Oil a paper towel with the canola oil and wipe down the grill grates several times to well coat with the oil. Immediately place the patties on the grill (dimple-side down) and cook for 8 minutes. Turn over, baste the tops with the balsamic mixture and cook for 4 to 6 minutes more (or to 130 degrees F for medium rare and 140 degrees F for medium).
• Remove from the grill and place on the Hawaiian sweet rolls or potato rolls. Add 2 slices of cucumber and a teaspoon of the Mint Aioli. Serve garnished with mint leaves.
• Mince the garlic, and then sprinkle the salt on top, and continue to mince and smash the salt into the garlic to form a paste. In a small bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, blend the yolks, garlic paste, lemon juice and mustard powder. Slowly add the olive oil to the yolk mixture in a very slow steady stream until the mixture is emulsified. Add the fresh mint and pepper and pulse until incorporated. Refrigerate.

HOMEMADE POMEGRANATE-LIME LOLLIPOPS

Steps:

• Fill a half sheet pan with an even 1/2-inch-deep layer of the powdered sugar. Press the back of a mold or shape of your choice (like a tablespoon measuring spoon) firmly into the sugar to create an impression as the mold for your lollipops The impression should be at least 1/4-inch deep. Make sure none of the sheet tray shows through the sugar in your mold, otherwise the lollipops will stick to it. Place a lollipop stick with 1/4-inch of the stick inside the impression. Make a dam with the powdered sugar to close the opening in the mold that the stick made, so no sugar syrup can escape. Repeat the process to make 4 rows of 3 molds each.
• Reduce the pomegranate juice in a small saucepot over high heat until it's thick and syrupy and there are about 2 tablespoons left, 2 to 3 minutes. (You will only use half of this, but reducing further will not allow for enough liquid enough to pour.)
• Combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Heat until a candy thermometer reads 300 degrees F, 10 to 12 minutes (it will just start to caramelize). Remove from the heat and carefully add 1 tablespoon of the pomegranate juice and the lime zest with a heatproof rubber spatula. Carefully transfer the candy mixture to a liquid measuring cup.
• Working carefully but swiftly, pour the mixture into the lollipop molds. Allow the candy to cool and harden at room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes. You may dust off any residual powdered sugar with a pastry brush, but it's not necessary. I love that one side is glossy and one side is coated in sugar, it lends itself to the artisanal nature of the pop.

PULLED LAMB SHOULDER WITH STICKY POMEGRANATE GLAZE

Steps:

• Put the garlic, cinnamon, cumin, oregano and lemon in a blender with 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp black pepper. Blend until smooth. Put the lamb in a large roasting tin and tip the marinade over the top. Massage all over the lamb and leave for 24 hrs in the fridge, or up to 2 days.
• Remove lamb from the fridge 1 hr before cooking. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Scatter the onions around the lamb, tucking some underneath, then pour over the pomegranate juice. Cover the lamb with foil and cook for 4 hrs.
• Remove the foil, carefully pour the meaty pomegranate juices from the tin into a large saucepan and add the honey. Increase oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7, re-cover the lamb and continue cooking for 30 mins. Meanwhile, bubble the cooking liquid over a high heat until reduced, thick and syrupy - this may take up to 30 mins.
• Pour the sticky pomegranate glaze over the lamb and onions and return to the oven for another 30 mins, uncovered, until the glaze is bubbling and just starting to char, and the lamb is really tender. Mix the yogurt, most of the pomegranate seeds and mint leaves in a small bowl. Shred the lamb at the table and serve with the sticky onions and the minty pomegranate yogurt. Scatter over the remaining pomegranate seeds.