Breast of lamb often comes with the small rib bones still attached, these are quite easy to remove yourself but if you prefer ask your butcher to do it and he will also tie it up for you, other wise tie it up yourself and some times I add some rosemary or some chopped apricots as a sort of stuffing other wise its just seasoned and rolled up, and tied.
1 breast of lamb usually around 900g
4 onions peeled and finely chopped
salt and pepper
vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped
100g sultanas
3 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp coriander seeds lightly crushed in a pestle and mortar
stick cinnamon
2 tsp harissa powder
tsp brown sugar
3 tsp tomato puree
can tinned tomatoes
100g chopped prunes
zest of lemon
1 Take a large casserole or heavy based pan with a lid and place over high heat.
2 when very hot add a little oil and season the lamb and brown all over in the hot pan. It will take up to 10 minutes.
3 Turn the oven to gas 4 180 C.
4 Set the meat aside and then lower the heat under the pan and add the onions, cook over a medium heat to soften and colour lightly, add the garlic, lower heat and cook for 10 minutes to take on some more colour.
5 Add the sultanas and spices and fry over a high heat for 5 minutes, Stirring well,
6 Add the tomatoes and prunes, and stir to really mix in. Place the rolled lamb in the middle and add water to just about cover, bring to the boil and cover, cook in the oven for 2 hours.
7 When cooked the meat should be easily pierced with a knife, remove the meat and set aside to cool slightly, if it still a little firm cook for another half hour or so.
8 Adjust the sauce mix removing the cinnamon stick and adding the lemon zest, check the seasoning, remove the string from the meat and slice serving on the sauce, with some rice and lightly steamed kale.
Photo by Caroline Trotter
