This recipe is inspired by one my sister in law made. It was so so good. I was craving lamb and it was a rainy grey day here in Brisbane; perfect weather for some tasty comfort food. I love Middle Eastern style food, it's such a melting pot of flavours. Strong and bold. The Israeli (pearl) cous cous, is the perfect accompaniment to soak up the delicious juices.
Serves 4
Ingredients
Lamb rub
1kg lamb shoulder
4 tbsp. ras el hanout spice mix
2 tbsp. dried Iranian lime
Salt & pepper
3 tbsp. olive oil
Sauce
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 red chilies roughly chopped
75ml prune juice
50ml lamb or beef stock
1 large red onion
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 sachet of tomato paste
Zest of 1 orange
Juice 1/2 an orange
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. mint sauce
Slow cook ingredients
2 small brown onions, cut into quarters
5 baby carrots, peeled, topped and tailed
4 garlic cloves (you can leave them with skins on)
100g pitted prunes
A few mint sprigs
Cous cous ingredients
2 cups of Israeli cous cous
2 1/2 cups of stock
75g semi sundried tomatoes
50g craisins (dried cranberries)
50g crispy fried shallots
Sprig of mint and coriander
Salt and pepper to season
Drizzle of olive oil
Garnish
Coriander & mint
Red chilli
Method
Take the lamb out of the fridge. Rub with olive oil, ras el hanout, Iranian lime and salt and pepper. Leave aside for 20 minutes to come to room temperature.
Add the brown onions, garlic, carrots to the bottom of the slow cooker.
Heat a large frying pan. Add the olive oil. Brown the lamb on either side and place on top of the veggies in the slow cooker.
Add the red onions to the pan and soften. Add the garlic and chilies and fry for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and fry for another 2 minutes. Add the prune juice, orange zest and orange juice and reduce slightly. Add the mint sauce and soy sauce and then finally add the stock. Reduce the sauce until some of the liquid has evaporated.
Transfer the sauce on top of the meat in the slow cooker.
Add the prunes and some of the coriander and mint.
Cook the lamb on high in the slow cooker for 4 1/2 hours. You can have it on low for longer but I was time poor. The meat should fall apart at this point.
20 minutes before the end of the lamb cook time, start on the cous cous. Bring the stock to the boil and add the cous cous. It only needs about 10 minutes. It should still have a bit of bite in it.
Once the cous cous is cooked, add the olive oil, craisins, herbs, sundried tomatoes and crispy shallots. Tip out into a serving dish.
Serve up the lamb family style in a large serving dish. Garnish with chilli and herbs.
Enjoy with a nice glass of red.