James Strawbridge’s Harissa Roast Lamb with Herby Couscous

Perfect for Easter or a lazy Sunday lunch with friends, James gives this roast lamb recipe a Middle Eastern twist with a bed of herby couscous to accompany a spiced and tender rolled shoulder of lamb. Slow roasted for amazing texture that just pulls apart. Dig in!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

For the lamb

• 1.25kg rolled shoulder of lamb
• 300ml red wine
• 250g chopped tomatoes
• 250g Medjoul dates
• 230g sun-dried tomato meze
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp harissa paste
• 1 tbsp traditional mint sauce
• 1 tbsp fresh chilli jam
• 1 bulb of garlic, broken into cloves but keep the skins on
• 1 bulb of fennel, roughly diced

For the couscous

• 200g couscous
• Seeds of ½ pomegranate
• ½ cucumber, diced
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 2 tbsp capers
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Pinch of sea salt

To serve:

• 200g feta & Greek yoghurt spread
• 2 tsp traditional mint sauce
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of cumin seeds
• Rondo

Method:

1. Rub your rolled lamb with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Sear in a hot pan on all sides to brown the meat. 
2. Brush the lamb with a mixture of harissa, mint sauce and chilli jam. Place in a roasting tray on top of a bed of garlic cloves, dates, roughly chopped fennel and a full jar of sun-dried tomato meze. Pour in a tin of chopped tomatoes and half a bottle of good red wine. 
3. Cover the roasting tray with tin foil and roast for 15 mins at 200˚C. Then reduce the heat to 160˚C and cook for 3-5 hours. 
4. While the lamb is resting, make the couscous by cooking it in a saucepan with hot oil for 1-2 mins and then cover with boiling water. Place a lid on the pan, take it off the heat and after 10 mins, fluff up the couscous with a fork. 
5. After a further 5-10 mins, once the couscous has cooked and started to cool down, toss it in a large bowl with plenty of chopped herbs, pomegranate seeds, cucumber, capers and a pinch of salt.   
6. Serve the lamb at the table by spooning the couscous in a lovely serving platter and laying the lamb on top. Spoon over the sauce to keep the lamb moist and to allow the juices to soak into the couscous. 
7. Mix some extra mint sauce into the feta yogurt to accompany as a side and sprinkle with a pinch of cumin seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with the spiced lamb for a cooling dip.