Lamb with Za’atar, Ras el Hanout, Harissa and Olives
Lamb with Za’atar, Hal el , Harissa and Olives
This is a slow cooked leg of lamb that’s not for the faint hearted.
WARNING, don’t make this if you’re a flavour wuss.
It’s also a recipe that relies less on precise measurements and more on what i like to call ‘guestamates’. relying on your tastebuds and trusting the ingredients to do their thing!
Lamb is a big treat in my household, no particular reason, just because we like it.
I’m more likely to choose a leg of lamb to cook and eat than a beef roast.
Lamb is such a great meat to take on a myriad cultural flavours and particularly these strong flavours.
Harissa, Za’atar and Ras El Hanout are staples in my spice cupboard, ground and ready for action, i’d recommend you trying them in your cooking.
Not just for lamb or other meats, but as an addition to vegetarian dishes too, making them all a little unique and with a slight Moroccan taste and as you’ll taste, once you make this, perfect to add dramatic flavours to the sauce left in the slow pot.
My tip with slow cooking the leg of lamb is don’t over cook it. It wants to stay succulent and soft but not falling off the bone.
I always think that theres a fine line between getting a perfect cook when using a slow cooker, and overcooking the meat.
Just like over cooking meat in the oven, left too long, slow cooker meat turns out dry instead of juicy , which is just my opinion so no shouting at the page :))
Let me know how yours turns out?
Go on, give it a go and enjoy your sweet life!
Not the best photo, but i couldn’t wait to slice into it!
What You Need
Leg of lamb - See Tip Box
2 Large Onions
3-5 - Garlic cloves - See Tip Box
2 tins chopped tomatoes
Couple of handfulls of Black and green olives - See Tip Box
4 Anchovies
2-3 tablespoon Cornflour - See Tip Box
For the Rub
1 Tablespoon Harissa - i used powder
1 Tablespoon Za’atar
1 Tablespoon Ras El Hanout
2 Tablespoon Worchester sauce -
Olive oil
4 Tablespoon Honey
Water
Slice the onion roughly
How It’s Done
Chop the onion into thin slices and lay on the bottom of the slow cooker
Throw in the olives, anchovies and both tins of chopped tomatoes.
Lay the leg of lamb on top of all of this and using a sharp knife, make lots of deep slits in the skin of the lamb
Peel and slice the garlic and push as many of the slices into the slits of the lamb as you can fit
Mix all of the ingredients for the rub together. Give it a mix and add as much water as needed to make the mixture spreadable.
Use all of the mixture up by spreading over the skin of the lamb.
Place the lid on the pot and turn the slow cooker to high.
Cook on high for 4-5 hours
Remove the cooked lamb from the pot, cover with foil and set aside to rest for 15 minutes
Place the cornflour into a bowl and add some water to make a slurry.
Slowly pour the cornflower slurry into the sauce left in the slow cooker stirring continuously so as to avoid lumps.
Slice the lamb , serve with some greens and sweet potato mash
Za’atar & Ras el Hanout , perfect for this dish and so many others. Keep it to hand
Tip Box
Lamb - I’ve not stipulated how big the leg of lamb should be. This is a recipe that can be adjusted to fit any size.
Garlic - How much garlic to use is really about how many slots you cut in the skin of the lamb much. The more the better
Olives - Using black and green olives is perfect but don’t think that is you don’t have both you cant make this dish. Use what ever you have
Cornflour - Again, you might need a little more or less of the cornflour, depending on how thick you want the sauce to be.
Rested and ready to slice .
