Roast Lamb with Black Rice & Green Harissa

Are you looking for a roast lamb recipe with a difference? Here, succulent roasted lamb shoulder is paired with an eye catching and fragrant black rice salad, flavoured with pomegranate seeds and fresh herbs. Delicious!

15-20 mins prep, 3-4 hours cook

Serves 6

Ingredients

1.2kg organic shoulder of lamb

1 whole bulb of garlic

Generous sprinkle of sea salt flakes

For the black rice:

250g black rice

½ red onion, finely sliced

Bunch of radishes, finely sliced

½ pomegranate

Handful of fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

Handful of parsley, roughly chopped

Juice from half a lemon

Drizzle of extra virgin olive or rapeseed oil

Generous sprinkle of sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

For the green harissa:

2 shallots

3 tbsps pickled jalapeños

Handful of fresh coriander

Handful of fresh parsley

2 birdseye green chillies (1 for less spice)

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

Zest of 1 lemon

¼ tsp sugar

Several good glugs of olive or rapeseed oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/Fan 200ºC/Gas 7. Place the lamb in a roasting dish, add seasoning and garlic plus a glug of oil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Next reduce the heat to 160ºC/Fan 140ºC/Gas 1 and roast for 3-4 hours until crisp and the meat is falling from the bone.

For the black rice salad, pour 250g of black rice into a saucepan with 500ml of water, add a sprinkle of salt and bring to the boil. Once boiling reduce the temperature and allow to simmer for 35-45 minutes or until the rice is soft but with a little bite to it still. Rinse with cold water or allow to cool. Next mix in the chopped red onion, radishes, pomegranate and chopped fresh mint and parsley. Add in the fresh lemon juice a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and add seasoning.

For the harissa simply blitz all ingredients together then check for seasoning and spice, adjusting if necessary. Store in an airtight container in the fridge and use when ready. Serve up the lamb, rice salad and harissa and allow everyone to help themselves.