Slow roasted lamb shoulder with spiced pumpkin, wine soaked cranberries & herbed couscous
WINE PAIRING: One Formation Grenache Noir by Boland Cellar
Click here for the downloadable recipe.
INGREDIENTS
For the shoulder:
2-3 red/brown onions, peeled and sliced into wedges
1 carrot, sliced into chunks
4-6 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced into long slivers (plus extra cloves, whole)
a few sprigs of rosemary
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
1,5 kg lamb shoulder on the bone (scoring of fat layer on top optional)
250 ml red wine
For the pumpkin:
245-60 ml olive oil
10 ml ground cumin
5 ml smoked paprika
5 ml cinnamon
15 ml honey
salt & pepper
1 small pumpkin, sliced into wedges,
seeds & pith scooped out
1 cup dried cranberries (**see note)
1/3 cup almond flakes, toasted (or pine nuts)
For the couscous:
1 cup couscous
about 750 ml boiling water
salt & pepper, to taste
extra virgin olive oil
juice & grated rind of 1 medium lemon
2 rounds feta, crumbled (optional)
a handful mint parsley leaves, roughly chopped
METHOD
For the shoulder: Preheat the oven to 230O C and arrange a rack in the centre of the oven. In a roasting tray the same size as the shoulder, arrange the onions, carrots & a few cloves of garlic evenly, top with some rosemary, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Place the shoulder on top, fat side up. Make a few small incisions all over with a sharp paring knife, and insert a slivers of garlic into each incision. Drizzle all over with olive oil, season with salt & pepper, and scatter with some chopped rosemary. Pour the wine into the bottom of the pan, then cover with foil and place in the oven. Turn down the heat immediately to 170O C, then roast for about 3,5 hours or until the meat is tender enough to pull apart with a fork. In the meantime, prepare the pumpkin and couscous.
Tip: While the pumpkin is roasting (see below) and meat is resting, make an optional gravy by heating the pan sauces in a small saucepan, and thickening it with a slurry of a few tablespoons water mixed with a few teaspoons of corn starch. Add mutton stock to stretch it, if needed.
