Broaden Your Horizons - Part II

A number of you have asked about the meat accompaniment to my Broad Bean, Asparagus and Halloumi salad. (Thank you!) In this case I cooked Slow Roasted Shoulder of Lamb.

Here goes..

Take a 1kg shoulder of lamb (or two half shoulders) and place the meat fatty side down on to a chopping board and pierce all over with a sharp knife.

Insert into the “inlets” 10-15 cloves of garlic, freshly chopped red chilli (as much as you require – but I suggest any more than two chillis will take over) and then at this stage you can add 1 tin of anchovies in oil - push one anchovy in with the garlic/chilli in the inlets to the meat.  If you don;t like anchovies do skip this part...though I think I converted my other half into liking them through my sheer cunning in putting them in there this week.  Though I don’t always put them in my dish – personally I think it adds a whole new depth of flavour to the dish –and after 4-6 hours in the oven they melt into nothingness – and just leave a lovely salty undertone. Yum.

In a large deep baking tray, thickly slice 2 large onions. Lay the onions on the baking tray in the centre and place the lamb on top, season well with salt and pepper. (though only very little salt if you are using the anchovies).

Pour over the lamb one bottle of wine. Normally I use red, however we had friends over on Tuesday evening and I wanted a lighter, more "summery" finish so used a white Merlot and it worked beautifully. Then add 1.5 litres of chicken stock. You can use lamb stock if you’d prefer - though i prefer the finish using the chicken stock. Then throw in some of your favourite herbs, I favour thyme and rosemary.

Place in the oven at 220°C for 30 minutes and then turn the oven down to 150°C and cook for around four hours. Baste every now and then. The lamb should be succulent and falling off the bone. Basically the longer you can leave the lamb the better – up to around 6 hours.

Take out of the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Slice and serve on a lovely wooden platter. You can serve this with salad, and buttery mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes – or make a cous cous with some of the meat juices.

Meanwhile drain the juices through a sieve into a clean saucepan, and boil until reduced, this will create a wonderful jus/gravy.

This really could not be easier, and yet again you cannot go wrong with this – just put it in the oven and leave it all afternoon, so you can carry on with your day and not worry about dinner. Such low maintenance!

My plea for feedback didn’t fall on deaf ears this time, thank you – and it seems that the Chorizo and Courgette Pasta isn’t just the food of love in our household either...it brings out the red hot lovers all over the country...! The new food of love..spread the word!

I have lots of ideas churning around and a few new postings on the go...I would love this to be my day job, but alas I must get back to mine and until next time....xx