Claudia Roden's slow-roasted shoulder of lamb with couscous, dates and almonds

Serves 6-8 Starters and mains

Advertisement

Method

Preheat the oven to 240C/220C F/Gas 9. Put the joint, skin-side up, in a baking dish or roasting tin, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast in the hot oven for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 160C/140C F fan/Gas 3 and cook for a further 4 hours until the skin is crisp and brown and the meat is juicy and meltingly tender. Pour off the fat after about 2 hours.

Half an hour before the end of the cooking time, put the couscous in an ovenproof baking dish, in which you can serve it. Add the same volume of warm water – about 300ml – mixed with a little salt, the orange blossom water and cinnamon, and pour it over the couscous, stirring well so that the water is absorbed evenly. Leave for about 10 minutes, then add the oil and rub the grains between your hands above the dish to aerate the couscous and break up any lumps.

Mix in the dates, raisins and chopped almonds, cover with foil, and put in the oven with the lamb for the last 20 minutes or until it is steaming hot.

Prepare the garnish by removing the stones from each date and replacing them with the blanched almonds.

To serve, pour the date syrup over the meat and spoon a little extra into a bowl. Stir the butter into the couscous so that it melts in and is absorbed evenly. With a fork, fluff up the couscous, breaking up any lumps. Add a little salt to taste, if necessary.

Garnish the couscous with the stuffed dates and serve with the meat, passing the bowl of date syrup around for anyone who wants a little more.

This recipe was taken from the Christmas 2021 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.