So, it's Eid - the great feast in the Muslim calendar - this weekend, time to serve up a whole sheep to the family. But this doesn't mean popping down to the local supermarket for a prepackaged cut. Moroccan housewives will have been off to the local livestock market to check out the available rams. What's wanted is one that's well-fed and sturdy and sufficient to feed the whole family. And what's the best way to choose amongst the many rams on offer? (You'll see the ladies rolling their sleeves up, ready to get stuck in.) By giving their testicles a jolly good squeeze, that's how. The question is, are prospective husbands selected in the same way...?
Lamb with garlic and ras el hanout
2kg shoulder of lamb
3 tbsps of good (but not necessarily virgin) olive oil
2 tsps of ras el hanout (see previous blog for this spice mix)
5 cloves of garlic
1 tsp saffron threads*
salt and black pepper
*(or turmeric if you're economising or can't get hold of good saffron).
Lightly slash the lamb all over with a sharp knife.
Peel and cut up 5 cloves of garlic and insert them deep into the meat.
Mix the oil, saffron (or turmeric) and ras el hanout.
Then give the whole shoulder a good massage with the spice and oil mix and sprinkle salt and pepper over the joint.
Set the oven to 170 degrees/gas mark 3.
Put the lamb in a roasting tin and seal the tin with aluminium foil.
Roast the shoulder slowly, slowly for 4 hours, still it comes apart when you pull it gently.
Let the meat rest for 10 minutes under its tinfoil or a clean teatowel before carving, and serve it with whatever you like - roast potatoes and vegetables, couscous, rice, ratatouille. In Morocco it's usually served with prunes and apricots and halved hard-boiled eggs – a very rich mix indeed - because there's still some resistance to spoiling a good mechoui with vegetables, which are traditionally regarded as poor man’s food...