“My husband detests prunes with a passion – but they go so well in this dish that he is happy to eat them! Don’t be put off by the long cooking time – it is definitely worth the wait.” – Julie.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan forced).
Place the almonds on a small tray, bake for about 5 minutes, or until browned lightly. Set a timer – these are easy to forget and will burn!
Combine all the dry spices including the salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place the onion slices, garlic, orange slices and prunes in the base of a large ovenproof dish. Sprinkle half the spice mixture. Place the lamb shoulder on top. Rub the olive oil all over the lamb with your hands. Sprinkle the rest of the dry spice mix over the lamb and press to make sure it is well coated.
Bake uncovered, for about 30 minutes, or until the lamb is becoming golden and fragrant. Remove the lamb from the oven and reduce the temperature to 160C (140C fan-forced). Add 2 cups (500ml) of boiling water to the dish, cover very tightly with a lid or foil and bake for a further 3 hours.
Remove the lamb from the oven. It should be very soft and falling away from the bone. Transfer the lamb to a warmed serving plate, cover with foil. Remove the orange slices from the pan and bring to the juices to the boil. Boil for about 5 minutes or until juices are reduced to a rich syrupy consistency.
Serve the lamb slightly shredded with the reduced pan juices, toasted almonds and parsley.
What to serve with this Moroccan lamb shoulder
This slow roasted lamb shoulder is gorgeous with pearl couscous.
This recipe was first published in The Australian Women’s Weekly in July 2013, and published online in 2026.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
