Roasted Shoulder of Lamb with Herbs
Roasted shoulder of lamb with herbs is an easy main dish to serve for a long lunch.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 2.2 kg shoulder of lamb
- 1 handful each of Italian parsley, oregano & rosemary
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 lemon, to yield 1/4 cup juice, plus zest
- 2 oranges, to yield 1/4 juice, plus zest
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 anchovies, rinsed of their oil & patted dry
- flaked sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Roasting Dish
- 1 brown onion, peeled & cut into 8 pieces
- 2 carrots, cut in half lenghtways, then halved agian into sticks
- 2 celery sticks, cut in the same dimensios as the carrots
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup water
Instructions
Marinating the lamb
- Make incisions all over both sides of the shoulder of lamb (about 10 each side).
- Rub the salt all over the lamb and place in a non-reactive dish (I use a ceramic baking dish which can go in the oven).
- Mix the marinade ingredients together with a hand-held blender.
- Pour the marinade all over the lamb. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight.
Cooking the lamb
- Remove the lamb from the fridge 2 hours before cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C fan-forced).
- Make a rack for your lamb by arranging the carrot, celery and onion on the base of the dish.
- Place the lamb on top of the vegetable rack, pour in the wine and water. Cover tightly with foil.
- Cook for 20 minutes at 200 °C, then turn the oven down to 140 °C (120 °C fan-forced), and then cook for 4-5 hours. The longer you cook the lamb, the more easily it will fall away from the bone. Keep the lamb covered with foil until you're ready to serve.
- When cooked, drain off all the juices and puree with a hand-held blender. If you like a thicker sauce as I do, add the vegetables as well. Serve alongside the lamb.
Notes
Use the leftover lamb to make a ragu to have with pasta. Freeze the leftover sauce and add it to a vegetable soup with beans or barley.