Roast Shoulder Of Lamb With Couscous And Date Stuffing Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 475. Put the lamb, skin side up, in a baking dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in the oven. Immediately lower the heat to 325 and cook for 4 hours or until the skin is crisp and brown and the meat is moist and meltingly tender. Pour off the fat after about 2 hours and pour in 3/4 cup of water.
• For the stuffing, put the couscous in another baking dish, and add 1 1/4 cups warm water, a little salt, the orange-blossom water and cinnamon. Stir well. After about 10 minutes, pour in the oil, and rub the couscous between your hands to air them and break up any lumps. Mix in the remaining ingredients, except the butter, cover with foil and put in the oven with the lamb for the last 20 minutes or until steaming hot. Before serving, stir in the butter so that it melts and is absorbed evenly. With a fork, fluff up the couscous stuffing, breaking up any lumps. Add a little salt to taste.
• For the garnish, remove the stones from each date and replace them with the blanched almonds. Serve the meat with the couscous stuffing garnished with these dates.

Steps:

• Lay the lamb, skin-side down, on a board - if the joint you bought is tied up, then snip the strings and unroll it. Cut several pieces of string long enough to tie around the lamb, then slide them under the joint so they're regularly spaced out. Mix the stuffing ingredients together, and season well. Spread the stuffing out along the middle of the lamb, then fold the meat over to form a roll. Tie the string so the roll stays together, but don't make it too tight or it will cut into the meat. Tie some string lengthways too, if necessary.
• Heat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3. Season the lamb evenly all over. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan, then brown the lamb all over. Start with the side where the seam meets, as this will stop the lamb breaking up when you carve it.
• Tip the veg, garlic and rosemary into a roasting tin and put the lamb on top, seam-side down. Cook the lamb until the core temperature reaches 60C on a meat thermometer - this should take around 1 hr for a 2kg leg. As you rest the lamb, the temperature will continue to rise so don't overcook it.
• Lift the lamb out of the tin and, keeping it warm, rest for up to an hour. Put the roasting tin on the hob. Add the stock, bring to a simmer, then tip the lot into a saucepan, scraping up any bits. Add 500ml water and then simmer again until reduced by half. Pour through a fine sieve and serve with the lamb.

Steps:

• Using a pestle and mortar or a mini chopper, mash or chop the garlic with a generous pinch of salt, then add the lemon juice, ras el hanout spice mix and olive oil, then pound or chop to a rough paste. Use a small knife to make small incisions all over the lamb. Sit the lamb in a large, shallow casserole dish or deep roasting tin, then rub the paste all over the lamb and into the cuts. Leave at room temperature for 1 hr, or better still cover and chill overnight.
• When ready to cook, heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Scatter the onion wedges around the lamb, then cover the dish with a lid or tightly with foil and roast for 3 hrs. Remove from the oven and uncover. Stir the onions and baste the lamb in the juices, then turn the oven up to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and continue to roast the lamb, uncovered, for 25-30 mins until browned.
• Lift the lamb and onions onto a board to rest and put the kettle on. Stir the couscous and raisins into the lamb dish so they're coated in the roasting juices. Pour over enough boiling water from the kettle to just cover the couscous, then cover the dish and leave for 5 mins. Uncover and fluff the couscous up with a wooden spoon, then stir through the chickpeas, chopped herbs and preserved lemon or lemon juice, and season to taste. Bring the lamb, onions and the couscous to the table to serve.