My photo shows the cumin dusted slow-roast shoulder of lamb with cous cous, aubergine, potatoes and shallots from One Pot Wonders, the lamb so soft it can be pulled rather than sliced. This recipe isn’t so photogenic but is far simpler to make, the lamb slow-roasted with onions and carrots, sitting on diced onion to improve the gravy with garlic that turns as soft as butter. Like the recipe in the book, it’s cooked under a foil tent but rather than red wine and water, I used a bottle of white wine to create steam so the joint steams and roasts at the same time. A light chicken stock or water or a mixture of wine, stock and water would be good alternatives. The juices are plentiful and leftovers should be chilled overnight, the disc of fat removed before using for another recipe. A slow-roast like this takes five hours and fills the house with gorgeous smells, so perfect weekend food. Leftovers are great in sandwiches with redcurrant jelly and a generous pinch of salt but is the ideal opportunity to make an Old Fashioned Shepherd’s Pie with Lemon Mash.
Serves 6
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 5 hours
1 onion
12 slim carrots
1 garlic bulb
1.5kg shoulder of lamb
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bottle of white wine, light chicken stock or water
or mixture of 2 or all of them
you will also need a large sheet of tinfoil
1 lemon
Heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Halve, peel and finely chop the onion. Trim and scrape the carrots. Separate the garlic cloves, finely chop one and crush to a paste. Mix the crushed garlic with 1 tbsp olive oil. Season the lamb all over with salt and pepper and smear the skin-side of the joint with crushed garlic. Smear the second tbsp oil in the middle of a deep roasting tin and make a bed for the lamb with carrots, diced onion and garlic cloves. Place the lamb over the veg and pour the wine or wine, stock and water (or whatever combo suits your kitchen) around the lamb. Squeeze lemon over the top. Tent the roasting tin with foil. Cook at 200C/gas mark 6 for 30 minutes then reduce the heat to 150C/gas mark 2 for 4 hours. Increase the heat to 180C/gas mark 4, remove the foil and cook for a further 30 minutes to allow the lamb to crisp and brown. Transfer the joint to a warmed serving platter and surround with carrots and garlic, pouring some of the juices into a jug to serve alongside.