Slow-roasted Shoulder of Lamb with Couscous, Dates and Almonds

Shoulder of lamb is what I cook when I have many meat eaters to feed.

Slow roasting makes the meat meltingly tender and juicy. I once made this shoulder with a date syrup glaze and couscous with dates for a dinner for the artist Michael Rakowitz. His sculpture on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square – representing the ancient statue of the Lamassu, the winged bull with a human head that was destroyed by ISIS in Iraq – was made out of empty date syrup tins. Dates have something of a sacred character in an Arab culture born in the desert. They symbolise hospitality and are said to have been a favourite food of the Prophet Muhammad. Their sweetness complements the sweetness of the meat. I love the combination.

Hands-on time 25min. Cooking time about 4hr 20min. Serves 6–8

1 whole bone-in shoulder of lamb 250g couscous 1tbsp orange blossom water 1tsp ground cinnamon 2tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil 150g pitted dates, cut into small pieces 50g seedless raisins 100g blanched almonds, roughly chopped 2tbsp date syrup, plus extra to serve 65g butter, cut into small pieces

TO GARNISH 8-12 blanched almonds

8-12 pitted dates

Preheat oven to 240°C (220°C fan) mark 9. Put the lamb skin-side up in a baking dish or roasting tin and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20min, then turn down the oven temperature to 160°C (140°C fan) mark 3 and cook for 4hr, or until the skin is crisp and the meat is juicy and meltingly tender. Pour the fat out

of the dish or tin after about 2hr and suitably discard.

2 Meanwhile, put the couscous into a heatproof serving dish. Measure about 300ml warm water into a jug and mix in some salt, the orange blossom water and cinnamon. Pour it over the couscous and stir well. Leave for about 10min, then add the oil and rub the grains between your hands above the dish to aerate the couscous and break up any lumps.

3 Mix the dates, raisins and almonds into the couscous and cover with foil. Add to the oven with the lamb for the final 20min of cooking to heat through.

4 To serve, pour the date syrup over the meat. Stir the butter into the couscous so that it melts in and is absorbed evenly. With a fork, fluff up the couscous, breaking up any lumps. Season to taste.

5 To garnish, stuff the almonds into the pitted dates and sprinkle over the couscous. Serve with the meat and extra date syrup to pass around.

PER SERVING (if serving 8) 856cals, 45g protein, 54.5g fat (19.5g saturates), 45g carbs (24g total sugars), 3g fibre