Ingredients 

1.6 kg boneless lamb shoulder
1 cup (250 ml) water
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3–4 cm pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil

 
Jewelled couscous
1½ cups (300 g) couscous
1½ cups (375 ml) chicken stock
50 g butter
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup (55 g) currants
¼ cup (60 ml) lemon juice
1 cup (80 g) flaked almonds, toasted
1 cup (140 g) pistachio kernels, coarsely chopped and tossed in a little olive oil
½ cup (115 g) fresh (medjool) dates, pitted and chopped into 1 cm pieces

 
Tahini yoghurt sauce
1 cup (280 g) Greek-style yoghurt
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Matt Preston's Slow-roasted lamb shoulder Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan-forced).

 
Use the tip of a small, sharp knife to score across the top of the lamb fat. Place the lamb into a roasting pan. Combine the water and half the pomegranate molasses, and pour around the lamb. Rub the remaining pomegranate molasses over the top of the lamb. Season well with salt and pepper. Cover with foil to completely seal.

 
Place the pan onto the middle shelf of the oven and roast for 1 hour.

When the lamb has cooked for 1 hour, add the tray of carrots to the oven on the rack underneath the lamb. Roast together for 3 hours or until the carrots are tender and starting to caramelise.

Remove the carrots from the oven and set aside to cool. Remove the foil from the lamb. Increase the oven temperature to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Roast the lamb for a further 30 minutes, or until it has a golden crust.

Meanwhile, to make the jewelled couscous, place the couscous in a heatproof bowl. Place the stock in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over a high heat. Pour over the couscous, cover and set aside for 5 minutes or until the liquid has absorbed. Uncover, add the butter and use a fork to fluff the grains. Set aside for 20 minutes to cool.

Place the onion and currants in a heatproof bowl. Place the lemon juice in a small jug and microwave on high for 1–2 minutes or until warm. Pour over the onion mixture and set aside for 15 minutes or until the currants are plump and the onion is lightly pickled.

Once the couscous has cooled, add the onion mixture, almonds, pistachios, dates, pomegranate seeds, coriander and mint. Mix gently until evenly combined – don't overhandle the couscous, or it will become gluggy.

To make the tahini yoghurt sauce, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Toss the carrots through the couscous. Serve with the lamb and tahini yoghurt sauce

This recipe is from Matt Preston's World of Flavour Book