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Halal-conscious recipe

Moroccan roast lamb with roasted roots

Sophie Godwin's Moroccan roast lamb with Halal lamb: half a leg rubbed with ras el hanout and roasted on onion, squash, celeriac and garlic, then served with a blitzed coriander, cumin, lemon and chilli dressing.

  • Cuisine Moroccan
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 4 portions
  • Time 1h 10m
  • 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.

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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 half a leg of lamb, about 800 g, which is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal; the rest is vegetables, oil, spices, herbs and lemon.

Half a leg of lamb is trimmed, slashed and rubbed with ras el hanout, then roasted on wedges of red onion, butternut squash and celeriac with whole garlic cloves. While the lamb rests the vegetables get another 20 minutes, and a bright dressing of coriander, cumin seeds, lemon and green chilli is blitzed to sprinkle over. The lamb is the one ingredient that needs a Halal source.

It follows Sophie Godwin's Moroccan roast lamb with roasted roots and coriander for BBC Good Food, which serves four.

Carve onto a platter, pile the vegetables on top and sprinkle with the coriander dressing.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Leg of lamb 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 lamb from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Lamb.

Safe substitutes

  • A leg of lamb of unknown slaughter → A Halal half leg of lamb, about 800 g

Allergens

celery (celeriac)

Ingredients

Lamb and vegetables

  • around 800 g Halal half leg of lamb
  • 2 red onions, cut into wedges
  • 1 butternut squash, skin left on, cut into wedges
  • 1 celeriac, peeled and cut into wedges
  • 2½ tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil
  • 2 tbsp ras el hanout
  • 8 garlic cloves, skin on

Coriander dressing

  • small bunch coriander
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • ½ green chilli, deseeded

Method

  1. Prepare the lamb. Take the lamb out of the fridge while you chop the vegetables. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Trim any excess fat off the lamb, cut a few slashes into the meat, then rub with ½ tbsp oil and 1 tbsp ras el hanout and season.
  2. Roast. Put the onion, celeriac, squash and garlic in a large roasting tin and toss with the rest of the ras el hanout and oil and some seasoning. Nestle the lamb into the tin and roast for 40 minutes.
  3. Rest the lamb. Take the lamb out of the oven and leave it to rest. Put the vegetables back in the oven for 20 minutes.
  4. Make the dressing. Meanwhile, blitz the coriander, cumin seeds, lemon zest, lemon juice and chilli in a mini food processor until finely chopped and vivid green.
  5. Serve. Carve the lamb onto a platter and pile on the vegetables. Sprinkle over some of the coriander mixture and let everyone help themselves.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Moroccan roast lamb with roasted roots & coriander' by Sophie Godwin (serves 4: oven at 200C/180C fan/gas 6; half a leg of lamb, around 800 g, trimmed of excess fat, slashed and rubbed with ½ tbsp of 2½ tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil, 1 tbsp of 2 tbsp ras el hanout and seasoning; 2 red onions, a butternut squash with the skin on and a peeled celeriac, all in wedges, tossed in a large roasting tin with 8 unpeeled garlic cloves and the rest of the spice and oil; the lamb nestled in and roasted 40 minutes; the lamb rested while the vegetables roast 20 minutes more; a small bunch of coriander, ½ tsp cumin seeds, the zest and juice of a lemon and ½ deseeded green chilli blitzed until vivid green; the lamb carved onto a platter, the vegetables piled on and some of the coriander mixture sprinkled over). We specified Halal lamb; the first two steps are each split at their natural break. Nothing else needed changing. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Moroccan roast lamb with roasted roots & coriander — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    By Sophie Godwin. Serves 4, prep 15 minutes, cook 55 minutes: half a leg of lamb rubbed with ras el hanout and roasted 40 minutes on onion, squash, celeriac and garlic; rested while the vegetables roast 20 minutes more; a blitzed coriander, cumin, lemon and chilli dressing. We specified Halal lamb.

  2. Lamb analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    What makes lamb Halal: the slaughter.

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