Slow Roast Ras El Hanout Lamb and Couscous

    40m prep time
    280m total time
    Easy level
    12 ingredients

Let your oven do all the work with this shoulder of lamb. It's heady with North African spices and the couscous is soaked in the pan juices. Perfect for a Sunday roast or a Saturday night feast with friends.

Method

Based on 6 servings, adjust as needed.

Step 1

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.

Step 2

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.

Step 3

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.
  • Ingredients
  • Based on 6 servings
  • 2kg Small Shoulder Of Lamb, bone in 2 x Sainsbury's British or New Zealand Half Lamb Shoulder (Approx. 925g) (550g-900g)
  • 2tbsp Olive Oil 1 x Sainsbury's Olive Oil 500ml
  • 1 Lemon, juiced 1 x Sainsbury's Lemons
  • 30g Parsley, chopped 1 x Sainsbury's Fresh Packed Flat Leaf Parsley 30g
  • 5 Garlic Cloves 1 x Sainsbury's Garlic
  • 1 Preserved Lemon, finely chopped or the juice of ½ lemon 1 x Odysea Preserved Beldi Lemons 360g (200g*)
  • 3 Red Onions, cut into large wedges 2 x Sainsbury's Red Onions Loose
  • 100g Raisins 1 x Sainsbury's Raisins, Seedless 500g
  • 400g Couscous 1 x Sainsbury's Cous Cous 500g
  • 400g Chickpeas, drained 1 x Sainsbury's Chickpeas in Water 400g (240g*)
  • 30g Coriander, chopped 1 x Sainsbury's Fresh Packed Bunch Coriander 30g
  • 6tbsp Ras El Hanout Spice Mix, shop-bought or use harissa paste 1 x Sainsbury's Ras El Hanout, Inspired to Cook 45g
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