SPICED LAMB CASSEROLE WITH HARISSA

Make sure you taste the harissa before you use it, as brands vary in terms of spice and smokiness.

PER SERVING 4.2g carbs, 1.8g fibre, 28g protein, 25g fat, 355kcal

Serves 8

1kg lamb neck fillets

Salt and freshly ground

black pepper

4tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium carrots, roughly chopped

2 celery sticks, roughly chopped

1 brown onion, roughly chopped

5 sprigs of thyme

2 small bay leaves

1tbsp harissa paste, to taste

4 fat garlic cloves, peeled and

lightly crushed

1 heaped tsp ground cumin

1tsp turmeric

1tsp cinnamon 1tsp ground ginger

1.5ltr hot meat or chicken stock

Turmeric cauliflower ‘rice’, to serve (see recipe below, but add ½tsp turmeric, 1 cinnamon stick and 4 split cardamom pods when you fry the onion)

A small handful of coriander or

thyme, to serve

Preheat the oven to 170°C/fan 150°C/gas 3. Season the lamb and brown all over in half of the oil in a casserole or heavy-based pan. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Put the remaining oil into the casserole over a medium heat and add the veg into it. Tie the herbs into a bouquet garni and add them to the pot. Cook the veg for 10 minutes or until they start to soften. Stir in the harissa, the spices and another pinch of salt, then put the lamb back into the pot. Add enough stock to cover, stir and bring to the boil. Cover and cook in the oven for 1.5 hours or until the lamb is tender. Remove the lamb and half the veg and set aside to rest, covered with foil. Discard the herbs.

Blend the sauce with a liquidiser and put back over the heat. Reduce it to a gravy consistency – this should take 10-15 minutes on a high heat. To serve, slice the lamb and ladle the sauce into bowls. Add a spoonful of cauliflower ‘rice’ and top with lamb slices and reserved veg. Garnish with coriander or thyme.