Slow-cooked harissa lamb
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Slow-cooked harissa lamb

By Tom Kerridge

Try this slow cooked harissa lamb as an alternative roast. We love the texture – it’s half-roasted and half-pulled, fork-tender but still easy to carve

  • Prep:30 mins
    Cook:5 hrs
    plus at least 1 hr marinating
  • Serves 6
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 716
  • fat 43g
  • saturates 13g
  • carbs 24g
  • sugars 0g
  • fibre 10g
  • protein 53g
  • salt 1.4g

Ingredients

  • 2kg whole leg of lamb on the bone
  • 10 red onions, cut in half
  • 300ml chicken stock
  • 4 tbsp chopped coriander
  • 20 dried chillies
  • 6 garlic cloves, grated
  • 100ml olive oil
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp caraway seeds
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Method

  1. If you’re making the harissa, tip the dried chillies into a heatproof bowl and pour over just enough boiled water from the kettle to cover. Cover the bowl and leave to cool. Once cool enough to handle, drain the chillies, reserving the water. Remove any stalks and pat dry with kitchen paper. Tip the chillies into a food processor with the garlic, 1 tsp salt, the olive oil, spices and vinegar, and blitz to a purée. If needed, add a little of the reserved water to loosen. Will keep, chilled, for up to a month.

  2. Make 15 cuts, about 3-5cm long, all over the lamb. Reserve 1 tbsp of the harissa paste, then rub the rest all over the lamb and into the cuts. Scatter the onions into a large roasting tin and sit the lamb on top. Leave at room temperature for 1 hr, or cover and chill overnight.

  3. Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 2. Roast the lamb for 4-5 hrs until the meat is fork-tender. Lift the lamb out onto a large board or serving plate. If the tin is flameproof, pour in the stock; if not, tip the contents of the tin into a saucepan first. Bring to the boil, scrape up any browned bits using a wooden spoon, and cook until the liquid is reduced by about a third – it should be a thick, rich onion gravy. Stir in the reserved harissa and the chopped coriander. Serve the lamb with the onion gravy.

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