Here's an easy and tasty lamb recipe with a Moroccan and Middle Eastern influences that will have you coming back for more.
Ingredients
- 1 boned lamb shoulder, cut into large, chunky pieces
- 3 sticks of celery, diced
- 2 leeks, diced
- 3 medium carrots, diced
- 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 x 500g tin crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon harissa
- 3 Lt Chicken stock or water (enough to cover the lamb)
- Sprig of thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ Jap pumpkin
- 8 small pickling onions
- Small bunch coriander
- Small bunch continental parsley
Method
In a stock pot large enough to hold the lamb shoulder, gently cook the stock vegetables and the garlic in a little olive oil until completely soft, but with no colour.
Turn up the heat and add the spices, allowing them to roast briefly but not burn. Then add the lamb, tinned tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme and cover with chicken stock. Bring to the boil and skim, then reduce to a very gentle simmer. Leave to cook for approximately 2 hours or longer if necessary. The meat should be completely soft and tender.
While the lamb is cooking, cut the pumpkin into wedges and peel pickling onions. Roast in the oven on a low heat with olive oil, salt and pepper, until sweet and tender.
When the lamb is cooked, gently remove the lamb pieces and strain the cooking liquid, discarding the vegetables. Return the liquid back to the heat, skim well to remove any excess fat and then season with harissa, honey, salt & freshly ground black pepper.
To serve, place in a tagine bowl, add the roast vegetables, and finish with a herb salad made from coriander and parsley leaves, fresh harissa paste, salt, pepper and a dash of olive oil. Serve with a steaming bowl of couscous.
