Lamb Couscous with Roasted Spring Vegetables

First of all make the Harissa  Recipe   and keep to one side. Put the tomatoes into boiling water. take them out one at a time, peel them, chop them into four discarding all the seeds but preserving the juice, and them transfer to a saucepan. Put the saucepan  Picture   over a medium heat and mash the tomatoes and juice to create a thin sauce.

It's easier if you get your butcher to bone the leg of lamb but you can do it yourself. Use a sharp knife to cut the lamb into cubes 4 cms approx square discarding all possible fat  Picture  . This should deliver between 2 to 3 lbs/1 to 1.5 kg of meat depending on the size of the leg.

Peel and chop up the shallots into fine dice. Soften but do not brown the shallots in a tablespoonful of olive oil in a frying pan and then transfer using a slotted spoon to an ovenproof casserole. Make some seasoned flour with flour, salt and pepper. Add some more oil to the pan, coat the lamb cubes in the flour, quickly brown and transfer to the casserole (you will need to do this in batches).

Add the tomato sauce to the casserole followed by water to generously cover the lamb. Stir in two tablespoonfuls of Harissa and a teaspoonful of salt, cover and cook in the oven at 300°F/150°C/Reg2 for three hours stirring once an hour. Take out the oven, allow to cool a little and then carefully lay over a layer of kitchen paper to absorb any oil/fat and discard. You can stop here, keep the meat over night, and carry on the following day.

Prepare the vegetables except for the cabbage: cut into 1 cm slices, season with salt and pepper and lay in one or more lightly oiled ovenproof dishes, sprinkle over a little more oil and cook in the oven at 400°F/200°C/Reg6 for about 15 minutes or until tender but still firm. Take out and keep warm  Picture  . Trim and slice up the cabbage, put in a thick bottomed saucepan in a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and soften covered over a low heat.

Reheat the lamb casserole if necessary  Picture  . Peel and chop the spring onions into small slices, and add to the couscous and raisins in a dish. Cover well with hot chicken stock and a tablespoonful of olive oil and allow to expand for five minutes (add more stock if need be). Meanwhile heat up the chickpeas and add to the couscous  Picture  .

Serve the lamb, vegetables and couscous immediately  Zoom  .