Braised Harissa Lamb Shoulder with Prune Reduction

Prunes are not the most obvious lamb pairing, but they really work. The prunes work to give the meat and gravy a lovely unctuous caramelised flavour.

My sister-in-law made a version of this recipe for me during covid. I'm pretty sure it was from a newspaper. Anyway, I can't credit it as I don't have the original so apologies to the original creator if this is very close to yours.

I served it with herby roasted potatoes and carrots with za'atar and goats cheese. The herby potatoes and goat's cheese on the carrots cut through the sweetness of the lamb.

Serves 5-6

Ingredients

1.5kg deboned shoulder of lamb

1 tbsp of meat seasoning (I used a South African braai seasoning)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 chilli, minced

6 sprigs of thyme, remove the leaves from two sprigs

4 tbsp of olive oil

50g (1 sachet) of tomato paste

3 tbsp of harissa

2 carrots, topped and tailed and chopped into chunky pieces

3 onions, peeled and sliced into quarters

1 onion, peeled and sliced

250ml of beef stock

1/2 tin of prunes with the juice

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Bring the meat to room temperature.

2. Heat a pan on medium and add 2tbsp olive oil. Add in the sliced onions and sauté. While they are sautéing, rub the remaining olive oil on the lamb. Then rub in the harissa paste and season with salt and pepper.

3. Go back to the pan, add in the garlic, chilli, thyme leaves and cook until it's aromatic. About 2 mins. Remove the onions, garlic and chilli onto a plate.

4. Add the chopped onions, carrots and thyme sprigs to the bottom of a slow cooker. Add in the prunes but not the prune juice. Turn the slow cooker onto auto or low.

5. Sear the lamb on the pan, turning to make sure it's all browned. Transfer over to the slow cooker.

6. In the pan add in the tomato paste and cook it off for 2 minutes. Re-add the onions, chilli and garlic. Then add the prune juice and the stock. Reduce the sauce for 7-10 mins. Transfer the gravy to the slow cooker covering the meat.

7. Slow cook the lamb for 6-8 hours until you can easily shred it.

Enjoy with a nice glass of cabernet sauvignon.