12-hour roast Moroccan lamb and quince

12-hour roast Moroccan lamb Credit: Petrina Tinsla

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  12 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp saffron threads
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1.5–1.7 kg lamb shoulder
• 3 quinces, peeled, quartered and cored
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 quantity toasted Israeli couscous with pistachios and preserved lemon

Toasted Israeli couscous with pistachios and preserved lemon

• ½ cup raw pistachios
• 40 g butter
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1½ cups Israeli couscous
• 2½ cups chicken stock
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp finely julienned preserved lemon

Marinating time 12–24 hours

Instructions

Combine the onion, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, ginger, saffron, pepper and olive oil in a processor and process to form a paste.

Rub the paste onto the lamb shoulder and place into a non-reactive bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for 12–24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 110°C (225°F). To bake the lamb, make a large bag out of baking paper and place the lamb shoulder and quinces into the bag in a baking dish. You could also place the lamb and quinces in an oven bag or simply cover the baking dish with foil. Bake for 12 hours.

To make the couscous, toast pistachio nuts in a large saucepan over a medium heat until brown, remove from the pan and set aside.

Melt the butter in the saucepan and sauté the onion until golden, add the couscous, cinnamon and bay leaf, continue stirring until couscous has slightly browned.

Pour over the chicken stock and simmer until couscous is tender and the stock has been absorbed, season to taste.

Stir through the parsley, preserved lemon and pistachios. Use as required.

Remove the lamb and quinces from the baking dish place onto a serving platter and spoon over any pan juices, drizzle over honey and serve with the toasted Israeli couscous.

Photography by Petrina Tinslay, styling by David Morgan and art direction by Anne Marie Cummins.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.