Lamb and Harissa

lamb and harissa with broad beans

August 9th, 2012

I had a couple of suppers from my Australian lamb and sandwiches for lunch, but I still had about 2 lbs of tender meat left on the bone. I wasn’t feeling much like shepherd’s pie and there was a tin of harissa calling to me from the back of the cupboard…

This isn’t an authentic North African recipe, but broad beans, harissa and lamb are everyday ingredients in places like Morocco. I made the rest up based on what I had in the fridge.

Lamb and Harissa with Broad Beans recipe (serves 4):

2 lb cubed lamb
1 large onion (chopped)
6 pieces of garlic (finely chopped)
2 sticks of celery (chopped)
2 carrots (chopped)
1 courgette (chopped)
1 green pepper (chopped)
8 button mushrooms (chopped)
1 lb broad beans (pod weight)
the juice of a lemon
1 1/2 pints of lamb stock
2 – 4 teaspoons of harissa (to taste)
A few sprigs of rosemary, sage and thyme, ground in a mortar and pestle with a pinch of sea salt and 8 black peppercorns
2 bayleaves
about an inch squirt of anchovy paste
1 dessertspoonful of Spanish sherry vinegar (or to taste)
olive oil for cooking (as needed)

mirepoix

Using a large cast iron casserole with lid, fry the onions in olive oil until they go translucent. Next add the carrots, celery and garlic.

courgette, mushroom and pepper

Stir the vegetables for a few minutes before adding the courgette, green pepper and mushrooms.

lamb

After a few more minutes mix in the cubed lamb

herbs

and follow that with the ground herbs.

broad beans

Once the meat has a been mixed in, add the de-podded broad beans. Pour in the stock and lemon juice immediately and increase the heat to bring the liquid to simmering. I used stock made from the lamb leg bone and a chicken carcass, because I had one. Chicken, lamb or vegetable stock are good, but you might need a stock cube if you are not using a meat based stock.

harissa

I added the bay leaves and stirred in the anchovy paste before dolloping in the harissa. I like things quite hot, but used two teaspoonfuls of harissa paste to start with – use this to taste, you can’t take it out, but it’s easy to add a little bit more.

harissa, lemon and stock

When the casserole is bubbling away nicely, cover with the lid and put it into a preheated oven at 100ºC for 2 hours. I checked and stirred it every 30 minutes or so, but I’m sure it could be left alone for the duration.

lamb and broad beans with harissa

With 30 minutes to go I tasted the casserole and stirred in two more teaspoons of harissa. Just before serving I thought a dessertspoonful of sherry vinegar would give the dish a little extra zing… and it did!

Serve with couscous or toasted sourdough bread. After all that heat from the oven and harissa, I needed a nice chilled glass of Côtes du Rhòne rosé with my supper.