Some Kind of Roasted Lamb: Lamb and Pomegranate with Apricot Couscous

Recreated from Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell

   [He] came and set the tray down on the small desk in the corner of my room and sat at the chair that was already too small for me and made him look like a giant. He lifted the red-clay cover from the tray, revealing a plate laden with some kind of roasted lamb dish that smelled wonderful. 'The family has already been served ... This is my supper and I'm entitled to eat it where I please.'
   'You want to eat in my room?'
   'Do you mind?'
   I got up from the bed, my clothes from the day before feeling rough and stiff against my skin, and joined him at the desk. When I looked at the tray I noticed he'd put together a rather large portion for one man. I noticed something else as well. 'You seem to have two sets of cutlery on your tray.' 

I have the pleasure of providing milk for a growing baby, so it was my husband who popped to London for Fantasy in the Court at Goldsboro Books. My gift from the last event he went to was a note from Robin Hobb in our copy of Assassin's Apprentice. My gift this time was an answer from Sebastien de Castell to, 'Which dish from any of your books should we attempt to recreate?' The answer: Spellslinger roasted lamb.

I'd been meaning to read Spellslinger for some time as an interlude between Saint's Blood and Tyrant's Throne (I'm saving that last one of the Greatcoats for a special treat) so the search for lamb  gave an added incentive. I found the lamb (excerpt above) and enjoyed thinking about food-sharing as an act of defiance throughout the book. 

Although we're not told exactly what kind of roasted lamb dish this is (I appreciate it's not the most important thing going on here) I've taken the liberty of borrowing ingredients mentioned elsewhere in Spellslinger. There's a traditional Jan'Tep spirit called dzajil that's made with apricots and pomegranates, and both these ingredients are eminent companions for roasted lamb.  

Even though Sebastien de Castell describes the lands of Spellslinger as 'more akin to the American frontier,' there seem to be Persian or Arabic influences at play, so that's what I've gone with. The amount I cooked surpasses even 'a rather large portion for one' so I'd recommend four to six sets of cutlery. Or you can do what we did and enjoy the leftovers the next day – it's just as nice cold as it is hot. 

Lamb (for four generous portions)

• 1 kg shoulder of lamb, bone and fat remaining
• 2 white onions, chopped

Lamb marinade

• 8 garlic cloves, finely diced
• 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp baharat*
• ½ tbsp salt (optional)
• 200g boiling water (fixed amount irrespective of lamb / marinade amounts)

*Baharat just means spices in Arabic, but in some supermarkets it's the label for a Middle Eastern spice blend. You could make your own blend instead, using spices such as cardamom, cloves, coriander, cumin, nutmeg and paprika. 

Couscous (for four generous portions)​

• 150g dried apricots, diced
• 50g sliced almonds*
• ½ red onion, diced 
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 150g couscous (dry weight)
• 350ml chicken stock, i.e. one stock cube or stock pot and 350ml boiling water
• handful mint, leaves only, finely chopped
• handful parsley, stalks included, finely chopped

*Whole almonds are fine.

To serve

• watercress*
• 4-6 tbsp natural yoghurt
• handful mint, leaves only, finely chopped
• handful parsley, stalks included, finely chopped
• 100g pomegranate seeds (if purchased in a pack; otherwise, seeds of two pomegranates) 

*Any leafy greens that you like will do as a substitute, e.g. pea shoots, rocket or spinach.

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) fan.
2. Place the chopped white onions in the bottom of a casserole dish.
3. Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl except for the boiling water. There's a tidy ratio so you can scale up or down depending on the size of your lamb joint.
4. Rub the marinade all over the lamb, including over the fat cap. Place on top of the onions in your casserole dish, fatty side up. Pour the boiling water into your marinade bowl to catch any that got left behind and then pour it around the lamb but not on it.  
5. Cover and cook in the oven for two hours (or one hour per 500g of lamb). While the lamb is cooking, prepare the couscous. 
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6. Heat the oil on medium in a frying pan until it spreads around easily when tilted.
7. Add the diced red onion, apricots and almonds and fry over a medium heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally to stop anything catching. 
8. Remove the apricot mix from the heat. Prepare your stock. 
9. Add the dried couscous to the apricot mix along with the parsley and mint. Stir to combine thoroughly. Pour over the stock making sure that all the couscous is covered. Cover and set aside until ready to serve. Fluff the couscous with a fork before serving.
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10. Take your lamb out of the oven after the allocated time and remove the lid or foil. Spoon over the juices from the bottom of the dish. Return to the oven uncovered and cook for a further 15 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven, then remove the lamb and leave it to rest for 15 minutes. Serve whole as part of a sharing platter or 'carve' (the meat will be tender enough to pull from the bone by hand) if serving in individual portions. 
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11. To serve – whether as a platter or in individual portions – build the dish up in layers: leafy greens on the bottom / off to one side, then apricot couscous, then lamb, then pomegranate seeds. Finish with a good dollop of yoghurt and sprinkle with the fresh mint and parsley. 

Tl;dr

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) fan.
2. Place the chopped white onions in the bottom of a casserole dish.
3. Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl except for the boiling water. 
4. Rub the marinade over the lamb and place in casserole dish. Rinse the marinade bowl with the boiling water and pour around​ the lamb. 
5. Cover and cook for one hour per 500g of lamb, then baste in its own juices and cook for a further 15 minutes uncovered.
6. While the lamb is cooking, fry the red onion, apricots and almonds in oil for five minutes. Remove from heat and stir through the dry couscous, fresh parsley and mint. Add the stock before covering and set aside until ready to serve.
7. Serve as a sharing platter or in individual portions with leafy greens, pomegranate seeds, yoghurt, fresh parsley and mint. 

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