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.
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.
- 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 😉
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!