Shawarma Braised Lamb with Couscous

Leg of lamb is braised in our Middle Eastern Shawarma Marinade until tender, juicy and easily shredded.  The lamb is served over a warm bed of couscous bursting with fresh herbs, cucumber, red onion, pistachio nuts and raisins.  Our secret ingredient is orange juice in the braising liquid, which adds a bold tang to the rich reduction that results. This helps to cut the fattiness of the lamb and enriches the couscous salad.

Ingredients:

Shawarma Lamb Ingredients

2.25 lbs De-Boned and Butterflied Leg of Lamb 
1/4 cup Wozz! Middle Eastern Shawarma Marinade
1 cup Water (plus a little extra added while braising lamb)
1 cup Orange Juice
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
Oil for Searing

Lemon Wedges for garnish and serving
Fresh chopped parsley for garnish

Couscous Ingredients

1 cup Couscous uncooked
1 cup Water/Broth
1 Tbsp Olive Oil/Butter
1/4 cup Pistachio nuts - chopped
1/4 cup Raisins - chopped
1/2 cup Cucumber - seeds removed, small dice
1/2 cup Red Onion - small dice
1/2 cup Mint - tightly packed - chopped
1/2 cup Parsley - tightly packed - chopped
1 Lemon - juice and zest
Salt (pinch)

Marinate Your Lamb

If lamb is in cryovac packaging, remove and rinse under cold water.  Pat dry with a paper towel.

Season lamb liberally with a good pinch of salt all over and allow to sit for 5 minutes or until salt dissolves. Follow by rubbing Wozz! Shawarma Marinade evenly all over the lamb. 

Allow to marinate at least 1 hour - preferably overnight
(we only managed an hour marinade for this recipe and it was still, really delicious) 

Braise Your Lamb

Pre-heat your oven 350 F or 320 F convection.  Set a Dutch oven or skillet on high heat.  Once hot, add a tablespoon of oil and sear lamb 2-3 minutes each side.

Braise lamb (in Dutch oven or transfer to braising/roast pan) with the fat side up.  Add water and orange juice. Cover with a tight fitting lid or foil.

Braise at 350 F or 320 F convection for 3 hours, basting every hour.  *Add water as needed.  

*Note:  I needed to add an extra cup and a half of water during the 3 hour cooking time to ensure the lamb kept moist and that I had enough sauce at the end. *Cooking times vary depending on size of lamb and oven types.

Remove lamb from pan and keep warm under foil.

Make Your Couscous  *we recommend making your couscous while you are braising your lamb - in the last hour or so

Place a small saucepan with a tight fitting lid on medium heat with olive oil or butter.  Add raisins and nuts and sauté until aromatic.  We are essentially toasting the nuts and releasing some sugars from the raisins.

Add water or broth with a pinch of salt and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add the dry couscous, stir, cover and remove from the heat.  Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes until liquid is absorbed.  Fluff with a fork while couscous is still warm (couscous will cake together if it fully cools before fluffing)

Once cool add your remaining salad ingredients, lemon juice and zest and mix until evenly combined.

Note: this couscous is a little under seasoned as the lamb and braising gravy are so rich and tangy.  If serving this as a side salad I would add juice and zest of an addition lemon and an extra drizzle of olive oil.

* Swap out raisins for any other dried fruit and pistachio for almonds if desired.

Finish the Lamb Sauce:

After you remove your lamb from braising pan and transfer under foil to keep warm,  transfer remaining braising liquid from the pan to a container to help with removal of the fat - either by skimming fat off with a spoon or using a specialty fat separator.  Discard the fat but keep the liquid.

Place your roasting pan or Dutch oven on the top of the stove and turn onto medium high.  Using a wooden spoon, de-glaze braising pan with a little water and scrape off any bits.  Add the skimmed braising liquid back to the pan and adjust consistency by either boiling and reducing the liquid or adding more liquid if necessary.  You want the sauce to be syrupy enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Shred or Slice Your Shawarma Lamb and Serve

Serve lamb by slicing or shredding gently with two forks.

Arrange the sliced lamb over the bed of the couscous salad.

Finish by pouring the syrupy sauce all over the lamb.  Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.  Serve with lemon wedges.

Enjoy!