Stewed neck in a Middle Eastern Style

The taste of the lamb neck is best revealed when stewing slowly: the meat becomes so soft that it leaves the bone by itself, and the sauce is saturated with spices, becomes rich and aromatic.

Ingredients

• 1 kg lamb neck
• 150 g thick natural yoghurt
• 2 tbsp. l. coriander seed
• 2 tbsp. l. cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp. l. sumacha + a little for serving
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 2 lemons
• 2 tbsp. l. olive oil
• salt
• 300 g couscous ptitim
• 550 ml chicken stock
• 2 onions
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp. l. barberry
• 1 bunch of mint
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 2 tbsp. l. olive oil
• salt

Directions

1. Prepare labne. To do this, place the yoghurt in a fine sieve lined with 3 layers of cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Refrigerate overnight to thicken the glass whey and yogurt.
2. Grate the zest of the lemons on a fine grater. Slice the lemons into thin slices. Peel the garlic and chop finely.
3. Pour coriander and cumin seeds into a mortar, add sumac, lemon zest and garlic, add 2 tsp. salt and rub everything into a paste. Add olive oil and stir well. Rub the spicy paste over the neck pieces.
4. Preheat oven to 220 ° C. Put the lemons in a deep baking dish, then put the meat, pour in 250 ml of water. Place the meat in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 160 ° C, cover the dish with foil and continue simmering the meat until tender, 1.5-2 hours (the meat should become very soft and easily separate from the bone). Open the mold periodically and juice the meat from the bottom of the mold.
5. Prepare your couscous. Crush the cumin seeds lightly in a mortar. Peel the onion and garlic and chop finely. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the onions until golden brown. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
6. Reduce heat to medium, add cumin and couscous and stir until couscous is lightly browned, 3-4 minutes. Pour in broth, season with salt, reduce heat to low, cover pan and cook until broth is completely absorbed, 20 minutes. Turn off heat, add barberry and let couscous sit for 15 minutes. under the lid.
7. Separate the leaves from the mint and parsley stalks and chop coarsely. Combine herbs with couscous.
8. Place the couscous on a platter, add the pieces of lamb, pour over the sauce on the bottom of the mold. Sprinkle sumac over the dish and serve with the labneh.