Recipes: Moroccan lamb with couscous crust

Moroccan lamb with couscous crust

Clever ingredient choices, such as lean lamb leg meat and couscous, make this hearty dish a whole lot lighter

  • 600g lean lamb leg meat, trimmed and cut into 3cm chunks
  • 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp hot chilli powder
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 12 no-soak apricots , quartered
  • 2 tbsp clear honey
  • 1 x 400g tin chickpeas , drained
  • 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 125g couscous
  • finely grated zest ½ unwaxed lemon
  • small handful fresh coriander , roughly chopped

    Method

    1. Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Put the first 10 ingredients in a casserole. Season, add the tomatoes and 400ml water. Bring to the boil, cover and cook for in the oven for 11/2 hours until the lamb is tender. Turn the oven up to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7.
    2. Put the couscous in a bowl, stir in the zest and 150ml boiling water. Stand for 2 minutes, fork through, then stir in the coriander. Spoon over the lamb and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, until browned.

    TryWHY IT'S LIGHTER

    This uses lean lamb leg meat and skips browning in oil, which adds fat. The couscous also makes a lighter crust.

    PER SERVING

    308 kcalories, protein 26,3g, carbohydrate 30,2g, fat 9,9 g, saturated fat 4g, fibre 3,6g, salt 0,51 g