Lamb Shanks Braised with Moroccan Spices on Parsnip Couscous with Harissa

This dish led to an interesting conversation with Roger, a local butcher who has been in the business more than 50 years. I needed a couple of extra lamb shanks. Roger was all out of shanks, but persuaded me to take half a shoulder instead, which worked just as well slow-cooked with these spices alongside the shanks. Roger said that these days you can't get shanks for love or money, and in his opinion they are crazily priced, considering so much of them is bone. I asked about oxtail, and he said that too was now "gold dust" whereas a few decades ago he had to throw it away as there was no demand. It's all that Jamie Oliver's fault, he said 😂.

The rediscovered fashionability of these (formerly) cheap cuts is great news in terms of making the most of the whole animal, but it's a shame they are not the bargains they once were…

In terms of this dish — it cleared out my spice cabinet with the large quantity of whole spices used! All the flavours are very bold indeed, including the citrus (backed up by the tamarind). As the previous reviewer said, an interesting, much more punchy alternative to a simple red wine braise.

The sauce mellowed in the fridge overnight (as it would when made in advance for a restaurant or a wedding) and was all the better for it I would recommend making this dish a day ahead in fact. Plenty of harissa leftovers too, which is a nice bonus as that works great on almost anything!