Moroccan Spiced Lamb Leg with Plums

Elena Duggan's Moroccan Spiced Lamb Leg with Plums

Serves: 8
Prep time: 30mins
Cooking time: 4 hrs 15 mins

Lamb
1 leg of lamb approximately 2.5kg, bone in
3 large onions, sliced in 1cm thick discs
750ml vegetable stock, reduced salt
750g fresh plums, halved and pitted
50g Slivered almonds
50g Currants or raisins

Spice Rub
50g extra virgin olive oil
2tsp cumin, ground
2tsp ginger, ground
2tsp garlic, ground
2tsp turmeric, ground
2tsp cinnamon, ground
2tsp coriander, ground
2tsp paprika, ground
100g honey or (date syrup)
½ preserved lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cous Cous
½ bunch fresh coriander, leaves only
½ bunch fresh parsley, leaves only
50g slivered almonds
1bunch watercress, remove woody stalks
100g yoghurt
250g dried couscous
1 pomegranate, arils only
1lge lemon, finely grated zest and juice
50g Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ bunch, parsley, finely chopped

Method
1. Preheat fan-forced oven to 150° Celsius. For the spice rub, blitz all ingredients in a food processor until thoroughly combined. Place onions in the centre of the roasting tray, place the lamb on top of the onions and thoroughly coat the leg with the spice rub, so that the presentation side is face down. Carefully pour the stock all around the lamb leg, so as not to remove the rub.
2. Roast the leg at 150° Celsius for 2 hours covered with aluminum foil, then an additional two hours uncovered. After four hours, remove the tray and increase the heat to 250° Celsius, place the plums, almonds and raisins around the lamb and gently toss in the pan juices.
3. Return to the oven for 15-20 minutes to form a heavily caramelised crust, before removing from the oven and allowing 10 minutes to rest the lamb, before pulling or slicing and serving.
4. In a large heavy based pot, prepare the couscous according to packet instructions, once cooked and while still warm, stir through remaining ingredients. Serve with fresh parsley if desired.
5. To serve in the oven tray, dollop small portions of yoghurt around the lamb on top of the plums, onions. Scatter the watercress, herbs and additional almonds. Slice and serve at the table.

With the new year on the horizon, Australian Lamb is ending 2020 on a high, sharing inspiring community stories with their Lamb Legends content series, where iconic Aussie chefs cook delicious holiday lamb dishes for local legends.

The content, housed on the Australian Lamb website, celebrates everyday heroes who have made a big, feelgood dent in 2020. To jump start the festive season, MasterChef star Elena Duggan and Head Chef and Insta' legend, Mitch Orr, have both created tasty lamb dishes to thank their 2020 Lamb Legend.

First up, Elena treats sustainable farmer and climate activist, Anika Molesworth, to a Moroccan Spiced Roasted Lamb Leg. Co-founder of Farmers for Climate Action, a movement that puts farmers at the centre of climate solutions, Anika is a passionate advocate for sustainable farming and environmental conservation. Hailing from her family's sheep station near Broken Hill, Anika was named the 2015 Young Farmer of the Year and was a Young Australian of the Year Finalist in 2017.
As a chef and champion of fresh ingredients, Elena appreciates the challenges Anika faces in supporting Australia's farming communities and the work it takes to preserve the areas providing fresh produce: "She could have downed tools and done something different, but instead she's trying to figure out how to make this industry and this country richer, with sustainability her main focus".

For Elena, Lamb has always been a dish for celebrating special people and moments, 'My nan's roast lamb is the hero centrepiece every Christmas, so I always associate lamb with bringing loved ones together."

Next in the series, Mitch Orr cooks delicious Grilled Lamb Loin Chops with a peach salad for undisputed legend and Find A Bed Co-founder, Erin Riley. Find A Bed, came to life during the height of the 2019/20 bushfire crisis, after Erin spotted evacuees sleeping in cars and realised she could match home owners with those who needed a place to stay.

"I started a very simple website in under an hour, with just two buttons 'I have a place' and 'I need a place'... it was all very low tech, but within a day we had over 100 people registered to host people and requests for places to stay began flowing in… we've now helped almost 1,000 people find accommodation over the course of the bushfire season and COVID-19 pandemic" said Erin Riley.

"People like Erin, who put others first and spring into action to solve a problem that needs to be fixed... that's pretty legendary to me," said Mitch.

Get inspired and watch Elena and Mitch's videos at www.australianlamb.com.au/lamblegends.