Moroccan roast lamb with pomegranate couscous

Mechoui lamb is usually roasted whole on the spit, but this is my version using lamb shoulder. By shocking the meat in the oven at the highest temperature to start it develops a wonderful crispy skin, but the slow roasting means that it falls apart when you eat it.

What you'll need:
Half shoulder of lamb
50g softened butter
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika


Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. Place the lamb in a roasting tin and cook for 30 minutes. Mix the garlic, salt, pepper, coriander, cumin and paprika then stir in the butter until you create a paste. Remove the lamb from the oven and smear on the flavoured butter. Cover in aluminium foil and return to the oven. Turn the heat down to 180 degrees and cook for a further 2.5 hours. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Pomegranate Couscous

To cut through the heaviness of the lamb I like to serve the lamb with a light couscous salad flavoured with pomegranate, lemon and fresh coriander. Simply follow the instructions on the couscous packaging and once the water is absorbed add the juice of one lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, the seeds from one pomegranate and a handful of freshly chopped coriander.