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Apricot and couscous shoulder of lamb

Name: Apricot and couscous shoulder of lamb
Cook time: 3 h 35 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: Couscous stuffing; 250g (1 cup) cooked couscous; 100g Turkish apricots, finely chopped; 100g shelled pistachio nuts, chopped; 60ml (¼ cup) olive or avocado oil; juice of ½ a lemon; 5ml (1 tsp) ground coriander; 5ml (1 tsp) ground cumin; 2,5ml (½ tsp) ground cinnamon; Maldon Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; Lamb; 2kg deboned shoulder of lamb; 1 whole head of garlic; 1½ lemons, cut into halves; olive or avocado oil, to drizzle; 125ml (½ cup) water microherbs, to serve

March 10, 2014 (Last Updated: January 11, 2019)

Apricot and couscous shoulder of lamb recipe

Recipe by Leila Saffarian

Apricot and couscous shoulder of lamb is a fragrant and tender meat dish that’s great for entertaining (especially since the shoulder is one of the cheaper cuts you can buy!). The zesty meat is great with the earthiness of the couscous, and sweet apricots are the perfect way to top it all off.

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Apricot and couscous shoulder of lamb

Serves: 8

Cooking Time: 3 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

Couscous stuffing
250g (1 cup) cooked couscous
100g Turkish apricots, finely chopped
100g shelled pistachio nuts, chopped
60ml (¼ cup) olive or avocado oil
juice of ½ a lemon
5ml (1 tsp) ground coriander
5ml (1 tsp) ground cumin
2,5ml (½ tsp) ground cinnamon
Maldon Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Lamb
2kg deboned shoulder of lamb
1 whole head of garlic
1½ lemons, cut into halves
olive or avocado oil, to drizzle
125ml (½ cup) water microherbs, to serve

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

For the couscous stuffing, combine the couscous, apricots, pistachios, oil, lemon juice, coriander, cumin and cinnamon, and season well. Mix well and set aside.

Flatten out the lamb on a large cutting board. Spoon the mixture onto the lamb, leaving space on the sides. Gently roll up (excess filling that falls out can be stuffed back in on either side of the lamb).

Using butcher’s string, secure the lamb and place in a large roasting pan. Break the whole garlic and place the cloves in the tray. Squeeze the fresh lemon juice over the lamb and place the lemons in the pan. Drizzle with oil and add water to the pan, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then cover the lamb with foil, lower to 180°C and roast until cooked through, a further 2½ hours. Remove the foil for the final 5 minutes and pop under a hot grill.

Slice thickly, place on a platter and scatter with microherbs just before serving.