Happy New year everyone! 2015 has sped past at lightening pace and lots has happened offline and as well as online too.My blog has a new name and a new home and so do we, we finally decided to move ur from our tiny but very pretty flat to a new place with a proper kitchen for a change!Exciting times! I was not blogging as frequently as I would have liked to though but hope to put that behind me and regularly share my food and travel adventures with all of you. Speaking of travel I am happy to report that I started 2015 with a month-long trip to India and visited Chennai and Pondicherry apart from my usual trips to Mumbai and Pune! Very exciting and I have finally managed to write up some posts about Pondicherry – more later! We also did our first ever trip across the pond to the Big Apple and managed to squeeze in four days at Washington D.C too – was so exciting, but the best bit of course was that we spent Thanksgiving with our family and caught up with friends after many years – what a treat! 2015 was kind to me in other ways too, I was invited to many foodie events and met some really cool master chefs, tried exotic food and reviewed many restaurants and bars too – will soon share more as the year unfolds 🙂
On the very first of the New Year I experimented with a cut of lamb that I haven’t before – a large shoulder of lamb that I decided to roast. Here is an easy to follow recipe, the only tough bit – waiting for the meat to cook 😉
I wanted to use a cheaper cut than the usual ones, a lamb shoulder seemed like a good place to start – this joint cost me £7.99 per kilo from my local butcher. For that price this cut gives some much more ‘bang for your buck’
Lamb shoulder is a quite fatty so there is no need to add too much oil, the meat pretty much cooks in its own fat and the port wine I have used adds deep rich flavours to this very succulent cut of meat. A joint of this size also allows for a lot of leftovers and therefore a great way to make a range of other recipes – think stews, casseroles, curries, pulavs, tikkis (a mashed potato fritter stuffed with meat – a great tea time treat) and so many more. Great on the pocket and a great choice for winter recipes.
How to make a great roast lamb shoulder
Am happy that the baster I purchased for my Christmas roast chicken is proving to be very handy. I have to say that am so proud that my Roast Chicken turned out absolutely fab and delicious – it was another experiment and the pork and cranberry stuffing and all the sides were made at home by me with lots of chopping, peeling and cutting help by the OH.
                      Easy recipe for Roast shoulder of lamb
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- 1.5 kg Lamb Shoulder
- 2 medium sized red onions
- 15 -18 cloves
- 6- 8 cloves of garlic
- Sea Salt as per taste
- a generous glug of ruby port wine - approximately 500 ml or a pint
- a handful of fresh rosemary
- Oil - 2 - 3 spritzs from a spray bottle
- Wash the lamb shoulder and place on a tray.
- Make cuts on both sides with a knife.
- Peel and cut the garlic cloves in half. Stud the joint of lamb with cloves and garlic in the cuts made by the knife.
- Sprinkle with sea salt. Tear the rosemary leaves from the stem and sprinkle them on both sides. (lamb and rosemary - a classic combination - just about to be made better with a little twist!)
- Peel the onions, half and then roughly chop them.
- Place the onion on a roasting tray - I recycled my foil tray used for my making roast potatoes for our Christmas dinner.
- Place the seasoned and prepared lamb shoulder on the onion and spritz with oil - I used oil very sparingly and find using oil from a spraying bottle ideal for this recipe.
- Then pour a generous glug of ruby port wine onto the lamb - I didn't measure this but added enough to ensure that the meat is totally wet and there is enough to make a gravy - allow for enough so that you can baste the meat at least twice while it is roasting in the oven. Roughly 500ml or one pint should suffice.
- Pre-heat the oven to 220° C.
- Cover the roasting tray with a foil such that the foil covers the edge of the tray like a proper lid.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 2 hours, basting at least twice to allow the meat to cook thoroughly and ensure you get a succulent soft roast that simply falls off the bone.
- After 2 hours check the roast and adjust cooking time accordingly - I needed about 40 mins more for a soft roast.
The lamb should now be at the ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ stage – serve with warm bread and steamed veggies on the side – ideally beans, carrots and peas or broccoli. Hubster is not fond of peas but I would be very happy lots of them 😉
                                                           Roast shoulder of lamb
The leftovers will get a rub of my home-made hot spice mix that adds a warming touch to my curries and stews – leftover lamb curry – can’t wait to share that recipe – it’s definitely a winter warmer and a firm family favourite.
Happy New Year once again folks and a lot of new and exciting recipe and travel posts coming up! wooooohoooo!
