What is Easter without a delicious lamb recipe to tuck into? Give this brilliant Easter recipe a go this year and you'll have that classic lamb dish everyone will love. It makes a great dinner party option too, if you're looking for a really tasty and impressive main dish idea.
Ingredients
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled, plus 1 full head, cloves separated but unpeeled
- 3tbsp rosemary leaves, chopped, plus 2 large bunches rosemary
- 2tbsp soy sauce
- 1 shoulder of lamb
- 4 onions, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 150ml (0.25pt) dry white wine
- 300ml (0.5pt) strong chicken or lamb stock
Method
Heat the oven to 140 C, 120 C fan, 275 F, gas 1. Using a pestle and mortar, make a paste with the 5 peeled garlic cloves, chopped rosemary and soy sauce. Slash the top of the lamb shoulder 5 or 6 times – make the cuts around 1cm (0.5in) deep – and rub the paste into these cuts, spreading the remainder over the flesh.
Place the onions, unpeeled garlic cloves and half the rosemary sprigs in the centre of a large, deep roasting tin, and sit the lamb on top of it. Season it with lots of black pepper and a little salt, then scatter over the remaining rosemary. Pour the white wine and the stock into the roasting tin and cover with a loose “tent” of foil, folding the edges tightly around the tin.
Roast in the oven for about 6 hours, until the lamb can be easily pulled from the bone using a fork. Then turn the oven up to 170 C, 150 C fan, 325 F, gas 3, remove the foil and roast the lamb for a further 20 minutes, until the top has become crisp and it has turned a rich dark-brown colour. Leave to rest for about 20 minutes, then serve alongside some roasted vegetables and the juices from the pan. If the juices look a bit fatty, pour into a jug and skim the fat off the top with a spoon or turkey baster.
