Moroccan Lamb

First heat a frying pan on high and add the oil to heat up.

Season the lamb generously with salt and pepper, we really want to get some flavour in to the meat so don't be shy, at least 1/2tsp of each.

Now brown the lamb all over, this will add more flavour to your meal. Once browned all over, pop it in to the slow cooker.

In the same pan you browned the lamb in, add a little more oil if necessary and sauté your onions for about 5 minutes until they begin to soften.

Next add the garlic and ginger paste, cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant.

Add the cinnamon stick to the pan and in a teacup add all of the rest of the dried spices, cumin, paprika, turmeric and oregano. Add a splash of water, give it a stir and then add to the pan. Cook until all the spices have begun to get nice and aromatic, about 4minutes, and then add everything in the pan to the slow cooker.

Now add all of the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker. Harissa paste, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, olives, apricots, lemon juice and zest, lamb stock and fresh chopped herbs (reserve a little of the herbs to garnish the finished dish). Give it all a stir to combine.

Pop the slow cooker on high for 30minutes and then put on low for 4hours, or until the lamb is tender and falling off the bone.

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4 hours later......

Now check that your meat is beautiful and soft, carefully remove it from the slow cooker and shred it with a couple of forks.

If there's a bit to much oil on top of the cooking liquor and you'd prefer to get rid of some it use one of the tips below (although fat is flavour)

1. Use a fat separator, it looks like a gravy jug but its specially designed to remove excess fat.
2. Throw in a couple of ice cubes, this will make the fat go hard and mostly stick the ice cubes, then just use a slotted spoon to sift it out.
3. Good old fashioned scooping it out carefully with a spoon.

Once you've tried your best to get rid of any unwanted fat, add the shredded lamb back in put the slow cooker on to a high heat and reduce the liquid by half. This should take about 30minutes. Once reduced don't forget to have a taste, you may like to add a pinch more salt or even a squeeze more lemon juice to cut through. That will depend on your own taste.

Serve over herby couscous and sprinkle over some of the left over herbs and some pomegranate seeds.

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