The second new recipe of the weekend is a shoulder of lamb courtesy of April Bloomfield. We played golf this morning and I had intended to get it going before we set out but the tee-off was a tad too early, so we are having a late lunch and hoping to squeeze it in before the start of Chelsea v Man Utd.
There's a small amount of work up front but then you can 'clean down' and just let it cook away slowly in the oven.
Here's the recipe
This not some sort of misguided version of surf and turf. Anchovies, like parmesan and soy sauce, are full of umami, and just a few lend the lamb's braising liquid an amazing saltiness and depth. The little fish melt right into the tomatoes and garlic, the carrots and wine and citrus zest, so your mates might not realise that they're even in there – but everyone would miss them if they weren't.
Shred any leftover meat and toss it and the sauce with pasta.
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
1 bone-in lamb shoulder (about 2.7kg), neck and rib bones removed
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sea salt
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm pieces
2 dutch or other spicy long red chillies, pierced with a sharp knife
4 small celery stalks, cut into 1cm pieces
1 garlic head, cloves separated, but not peeled
1 large spanish onion, peeled and cut into 1cm pieces
1 blood orange or small regular orange
1 lemon
1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
One 800g tin peeled whole tomatoes, drained, trimmed, and squished with your hands
4 whole salt-packed anchovies, rinsed, soaked, and filleted
325ml dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc
Method
Find a casserole large enough (about 6 or 7 litres) to hold the lamb shoulder with a little room to spare. Add the olive oil to the pot and set it over high heat until the oil begins to smoke. Season the shoulder all over with the salt and carefully add it to the smoking oil, fatty side down. Brown it all over, using a spoon to occasionally baste it with the hot fat. It'll take at least 15 minutes to achieve a deep-brown colour, which is essential to bringing out the lamb's sweetness and giving the dish a rich flavour.
Ingredients
1 bone-in lamb shoulder (about 2.7kg), neck and rib bones removed
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sea salt
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm pieces
2 dutch or other spicy long red chillies, pierced with a sharp knife
4 small celery stalks, cut into 1cm pieces
1 garlic head, cloves separated, but not peeled
1 large spanish onion, peeled and cut into 1cm pieces
1 blood orange or small regular orange
1 lemon
1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
One 800g tin peeled whole tomatoes, drained, trimmed, and squished with your hands
4 whole salt-packed anchovies, rinsed, soaked, and filleted
325ml dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc
Method
Find a casserole large enough (about 6 or 7 litres) to hold the lamb shoulder with a little room to spare. Add the olive oil to the pot and set it over high heat until the oil begins to smoke. Season the shoulder all over with the salt and carefully add it to the smoking oil, fatty side down. Brown it all over, using a spoon to occasionally baste it with the hot fat. It'll take at least 15 minutes to achieve a deep-brown colour, which is essential to bringing out the lamb's sweetness and giving the dish a rich flavour.
When it looks beautiful, move the shoulder to a plate and set aside for the moment. Discard half the fat in the pot. Turn the heat down to medium, add the carrots to the pot first, then add the chillies, celery, garlic, and onions, but don't stir them. You want to let them steam on top of the carrots for a bit until the carrots start to brown slightly. Cook for 10 minutes, then give all the vegetables a good stir and cook them, stirring occasionally to keep them from sticking to the pot, until they're all softening and browning a bit, about 15 minutes more.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C / 400F / gas 6. Use a peeler to cut five long 1cm-wide strips of skin from the orange and then from the lemon, then cut away the white pith from the strips. Add the citrus skin, rosemary, tomatoes, and anchovies to the pot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring so all the flavours have a chance to marry. Squeeze in the juice of the orange and half the lemon, and give a stir. Return the shoulder to the pot and pour the wine and 325ml water around, not over, it. Raise the heat slightly to bring the liquid to a simmer.
Cover the pot and put it in the oven. After 30 minutes, lower the heat to 150C / 300F / gas 2 and cook, rotating the pot once halfway through, basting the shoulder with the pan liquid every half an hour or so (I also like to pile some of the vegetables on top of the meat), and removing the lid 30 minutes or so before the lamb is ready, until the shoulder has gone melty and so tender you can easily twist off the meat with a fork, about 3½ hours. Let the lamb rest for 10 minutes, then spoon off the fat (there will be about 100ml that rises to the surface of the sauce. Season the sauce with salt to taste.
Haul the pot to the table, along with tongs for the meat and a spoon for the sauce, and serve.
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