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Halal-conscious recipe

Marrakech lamb with tahini squash gratin

Cassie Best's Moroccan roast lamb with a Halal shoulder: stuffed with spiced onion, herbs, pistachios, feta, sour cherries and preserved lemon, roasted on a squash gratin in tahini, cream and Halal or vegetable stock, with saffron yogurt.

  • Cuisine Moroccan
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Moderate
  • Yield 6 portions
  • Time 2h 20m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
Lamb chops searing over flames on a charcoal grill, with metal tongs
Photograph from our ingredient library: lamb chops on a grill, not the finished dish from this recipe.

Photo: domdomegg · CC BY 4.0

Why Halal checks matter here

The roast is a 1.6 to 1.8 kg boned lamb shoulder, which is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal; the stuffing has feta, whose rennet decides it; the gratin uses 300 ml chicken or lamb stock; and the saffron yogurt is Greek yogurt sharpened with white wine vinegar.

A boned shoulder of lamb is stuffed with fried onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, cinnamon and sumac mixed with breadcrumbs, herbs, pistachios, feta, sour cherries, preserved lemon and tahini, rolled and tied, then roasted on top of a thinly sliced squash gratin baked in tahini, cream and stock. It is served with a saffron yogurt from the recipe's tip. The source calls it a Moroccan roast lamb. The lamb needs a Halal source, the feta a rennet you accept (see rennet), the stock should be Halal-certified or vegetable (see stock cubes), and the yogurt free of gelatin. The saffron yogurt is made with white wine vinegar, a scholarly difference (see vinegar); lemon juice is our swap.

It follows Cassie Best's Marrakech lamb with tahini squash gratin for BBC Good Food, which serves six and is rated 'More effort'.

Serve the lamb on the gratin with mint leaves and the saffron yogurt on the side.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Lamb shoulder Lamb is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal, and lamb without a Halal mark doesn't say how the animal was slaughtered. Buy the shoulder from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Lamb.
  • Feta The rennet decides cheese: microbial, plant or Halal-slaughtered animal rennet is fine, while other animal rennet is a known difference of opinion. Use a feta labelled vegetarian or made with microbial rennet. See Rennet.
  • Chicken or lamb stock Bought meat stock is a meat product, and the UK's mainstream stock cubes contain uncertified chicken or meat fat. Use a Halal-certified chicken or lamb stock or a vegan vegetable stock. See Stock cubes.
  • White wine vinegar Wine vinegar is a scholarly difference: the Hanafi school, Indonesia's MUI and IslamQA permit it, while the classical Shafi'i rule and Malaysia's 2006 fatwa do not. Use it only if your school accepts it, or use lemon juice instead (our swap). See Vinegar.
  • Greek yogurt Plain yogurt is milk fermented with cultures, but gelatin turns up in set, low-fat and dessert yogurts. Choose a yogurt with no gelatin on the label. See Yogurt.

Safe substitutes

  • A lamb shoulder of unknown slaughter → A Halal boned lamb shoulder of 1.6 to 1.8 kg
  • 300 ml chicken or lamb stock → 300 ml Halal-certified chicken or lamb stock, or vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar, if your school doesn't accept it → 2 tbsp lemon juice (our swap)

Allergens

milk (feta, double cream, Greek yogurt), gluten (breadcrumbs), nuts (pistachios), sesame (tahini)

Ingredients

Lamb and stuffing

  • 1.6 to 1.8 kg Halal boned shoulder of lamb
  • 2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp sumac
  • 50 g fresh breadcrumbs
  • small bunch parsley, chopped
  • small bunch mint, chopped, plus a few whole leaves to serve
  • 85 g pistachios, roughly chopped
  • 100 g feta, crumbled (microbial or vegetarian rennet)
  • 60 g pack dried sour cherries
  • 2 small preserved lemons, rind only, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp tahini

Squash gratin

  • 1 large butternut squash (or 2 to 3 smaller squashes)
  • 4 tbsp tahini
  • 100 ml double cream
  • 300 ml Halal-certified chicken or lamb stock, or vegetable stock

Saffron yogurt

  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar (or lemon juice, our swap)
  • 1 tsp golden caster sugar
  • 2 good pinches saffron
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 150 ml thick Greek yogurt with no gelatine

Method

  1. Make the stuffing. Take the lamb out of the fridge to come to room temperature. Heat half the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion for 8 to 10 minutes until starting to turn golden. Add the garlic and spices for 1 minute more, then scoop into a large bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, herbs, pistachios, feta, cherries, preserved lemon and tahini, season and mix.
  2. Stuff and tie the lamb. Unroll the lamb and season it well on both sides. Pack the stuffing down the centre, pressing it on, then re-roll and tie with kitchen string. Turn it seam-side down and push any stray stuffing back in. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
  3. Assemble the gratin. Peel the squash and slice it very thinly, removing the seeds from the bulbous end. Whisk the tahini, cream and stock with some seasoning. Layer the squash in a shallow ovenproof dish of about 22 x 30 cm, seasoning between the layers, finishing with neat half-moon slices, and pour over the tahini stock.
  4. Roast the lamb. Set the lamb on the gratin, seam-side down, and rub with the remaining oil. Roast in the centre of the oven for 1 hour 20 minutes for slightly pink lamb. Lift the lamb onto a plate, cover with foil and leave to rest.
  5. Crisp the gratin. While the lamb rests, turn the oven up to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Spoon any excess fat off the gratin and return it to the oven for 20 minutes until golden and crisp.
  6. Make the saffron yogurt and serve. Gently heat the vinegar, sugar, saffron and water in a small pan until simmering, swirling to dissolve the sugar, and bubble until reduced to about 1 tbsp. Cool, then mix into the yogurt and chill. Put the lamb back on the gratin, scatter with mint leaves and serve with the saffron yogurt.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Marrakech lamb with tahini squash gratin' by Cassie Best, which calls it a Moroccan roast lamb (serves 6: a chopped red onion fried 8 to 10 minutes in half of 2 tbsp oil, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 2 tsp each ground coriander and cumin, 1 tsp each cinnamon and sumac 1 minute more; mixed with 50 g fresh breadcrumbs, a small bunch each of chopped parsley and mint, 85 g chopped pistachios, 100 g crumbled feta, a 60 g pack of dried sour cherries, the chopped rind of 2 small preserved lemons and 3 tbsp tahini; packed down the centre of a 1.6 to 1.8 kg boned lamb shoulder, rolled and tied with string; oven at 200C/180C fan/gas 6; a large butternut squash peeled and thinly sliced into a 22 x 30 cm dish, seasoned between layers, with 4 tbsp tahini, 100 ml double cream and 300 ml chicken or lamb stock whisked and poured over; the lamb set on top, rubbed with the remaining oil and roasted 1 hour 20 minutes for slightly pink meat; the lamb rested under foil while the gratin, skimmed of fat, goes back 20 minutes at 220C/200C fan/gas 7; served on the gratin with mint leaves and a saffron yogurt of 2 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp golden caster sugar, 2 good pinches of saffron and 1 tbsp water reduced to about 1 tbsp and mixed into 150 ml thick Greek yogurt, from the recipe's tip). We specified a Halal lamb shoulder, a feta made with microbial or vegetarian rennet, a Halal-certified or vegetable stock and a gelatine-free yogurt, and flagged the white wine vinegar with lemon juice as our swap; the first step is split at its natural break and the saffron yogurt from the tip is its own step. The source rates it 'More effort'. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Marrakech lamb with tahini squash gratin — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    By Cassie Best, who calls it a Moroccan roast lamb. Serves 6, prep 30 minutes, cook 1 hour 50 minutes, rated 'More effort': a boned lamb shoulder stuffed with spiced onion, breadcrumbs, herbs, pistachios, feta, sour cherries, preserved lemon and tahini; roasted 1 hour 20 minutes on a squash gratin in tahini, cream and stock; the gratin crisped 20 minutes at 220C; a saffron yogurt from the tip. We specified Halal lamb and stock, rennet-checked feta and gelatine-free yogurt.

  2. Lamb analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    What makes lamb Halal: the slaughter.

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