“There’s a reason we brine foods, and it’s something I do often these days – it puts a lot of moisture into the meat while seasoning it at the same time,” says Matt Moran. “This is our biggest-selling dish at Chiswick. We use lamb from my family farm.”

Ingredients

1 lamb shoulder, bone-in (about 1.3kg), trimmed

2 cloves garlic, bruised

1 rosemary sprig

1.5 litres chicken stock

Brine

400 gm fine salt

260 gm caster sugar

1 tsp each black peppercorns, juniper berries and cloves

Tomato and pickled onion salad

1/2 Spanish onion, thinly sliced

75 ml chardonnay vinegar

50 ml rice wine vinegar

3 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp coarsely chopped ginger

½ long red chilli, halved

½ garlic clove

Large pinch each of mustard seeds and black peppercorns

1 clove

2 tbsp grapeseed oil

250 gm (1 punnet) cherry tomatoes, halved

80 gm canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Small handful herbs, such as basil, coriander, mint and flat-leaf parsley

3 tsp lemon juice mixed with

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Hummus

150 gm canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp tahini

1 garlic clove, blanched

Juice of ½ lemon

1 tsp ground cumin

Mint salsa

1 cup (firmly packed) mint

¼ cup (firmly packed) flat-leaf parsley

1 garlic clove, chopped

70 ml (3½ tbsp) grapeseed oil

1 tbsp chardonnay vinegar

Method

Main

1.For brine, bring ingredients and 3 litres of water to the boil in a saucepan. Set aside to cool, then chill in the refrigerator (45 minutes to 1 hour).

2.Place lamb in a container, pour in brine to cover, place a plate on top to keep submerged and refrigerate for 3 hours to lightly brine. Remove lamb and pat dry with paper towels.

3.Preheat oven to 110C. Place lamb in a deep roasting pan with garlic, rosemary and chicken stock. Cover with foil and braise until meat is falling off the bone (6-7 hours).

4.For tomato and pickled onion salad, place onion in a bowl. Combine vinegars, sugar, ginger, chilli, garlic, spices and 120ml water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Strain liquid through a fine sieve over onion, reserving pickling liquid for another use. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until completely cold (30-40 minutes). Drain onion, place in a bowl with remaining ingredients and toss to combine.

5.Meanwhile, for hummus, blend ingredients in a food processor until a smooth purée forms, adding 1-2 tsp water if necessary. Season to taste.

6.For mint salsa, process mint, parsley, garlic and grapeseed oil in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, stir in vinegar, season to taste.

7.Serve lamb with hummus, tomato and pickled onion salad, and mint salsa alongside.

Watch Matt Moran from Brisbane’s Aria restaurant make the slow-cooked lamb with hummus, tomato salad and mint salsa recipe live from the Harvey Norman Gourmet Institute Event on July 29 at Harvey Norman, Aspley in an exclusive video on the Harvey Norman website.
Notes

Matt Moran

Ingredients

Method

Main

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