Slow cooked shoulder of lamb with harissa, cumin, spinach and potatoes

I cooked this for my daughter's godmother on her 30th birthday. It came out beautifully. It's a sort of Moroccan version of lamb boulanger .


Ingredients for 4:   

800g/ 1lb 12 oz rolled boneless lamb shoulder
1-2 tsp harissa paste
1 tsp ground cumin
350 g fresh spinach
1kg / 2lbs potatoes, sliced thickly
75 ml/1/3 cup water or lamb or veg stock
salt and pepper

Directions:

Grease your slow cooker. Lay the potatoes into the bottom and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the water. Wash the spinach then let it wilt briefly in a large pan with the lid on - maybe 3-4 minutes. Layer this on top of the potatoes and season again. Unroll the lamb, fatty side down. Spread the harissa over the lamb then sprinkle with the cumin. Put the lamb on top of the spinach. Cook on Low for 4-5 hours. Serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt, maybe with some cumin seeds sprinkled into it.

Verdict:

Heavenly. The potatoes were very flavourful with all the lamby, spinachy juices and kept their shape. The lamb was spicy but not ridiculously so. It had cooked to a tender, melting consistency. Everything was moist and fragrant. We had a happy birthday girl. Which made up for the tragedy which was dessert (a failed lemon surprise pudding. Surprise! It's lemon soup!) and the stomach ache I had overnight after we demolished a box of chocolate mint matchsticks between us as a replacement for dessert.