Home / Thanksgiving / Thanksgiving Recipes / Four-hour aromatic lamb shoulder(4 products)

This was just lovely – butter-soft meat and a cheeky chilli hit on the outside bits.  The leftovers were great on some crusty bread with some of my gingery pear chutney!

Half a shoulder of lamb, about 1kg in weight
2tsp harissa paste
1 lemon
Salt and pepper
A good handful of chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp honey
Half a teaspoon ground allspice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1tbsp light olive oil

In a bowl, combine the harissa, lemon zest, seasoning, coriander, honey, allspice, garlic and olive oil and mix it up well.  Slather the lamb joint all over with this heady mixture, underneath as well as over the top and sides.

Stick this in an oven dish and preheat the oven to 220 centigrade, 200 fan.  If you want to eat at 1pm you’ll want to get the lamb in the oven for 8.30am.

Give the lamb 30 minutes at this heat.  Take it out and squeeze the lemon over the top, then carefully pour 300ml water around the base of the meat.  Cover with foil so that there is plenty of room for steam but the edges are sealed tight.

Lower your oven temperature to 140 centigrade, 120 fan and leave the lamb in there for another 3 and a half hours.  Take it out and let it rest just as it is, for up to 30 minutes before serving.

We had this with couscous and wilted red kale.  I strip the stalks out of the kale and wash before putting in a large saucepan with just the water that clings to it, and a good knob of salted butter.  The lid goes on and I cook it over a moderate heat until the leaves are just wilted –  a couple of stirs and a few minutes only.  My daughter’s second favourite, after chard.

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