Meat mains
Slow-cooked lamb shoulder with root veg and homemade mint sauce
Thick slices of slow-cooked lamb with a rich gravy and roasted root veg tossed with toothsome pearl barley and parsley. This is a fabulous Sunday or Easter treat, especially if you make your own mint sauce – fresh is definitely more tasty than from a jar.
Ingredients
main
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, cut into wedges
- 2 bay leaves
- oil for frying, e.g. vegetable or sunflower
- 2.2kg lamb shoulder
- 1 garlic bulb
- rosemary sprigs
- 1kg mixed root veg, peeled and chopped into 2cm dice
- few thyme sprigs
- 800ml stock
- 250g pearl barley
- oil for roasting, e.g. olive
- large bunch fresh parsley, chopped
for the mint sauce
- 20g fresh mint leaves
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- good pinch fine sea salt
Method
main
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 120°C/Gas 1. Put the carrots, onion and bay leaves in a roasting tray that will fit the lamb fairly snugly.
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Step 2
Heat a large frying pan with a bit of oil and brown the lamb on both sides. Remove it and lay on the veg in the tin.
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Step 3
Cut small slits in the lamb and poke in some whole garlic cloves and rosemary. Season.
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Step 4
Pour 100ml water into the bottom of the pan, cover tightly with foil and bake for 4 hours.
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Step 5
Put the root veg in a roasting tin and toss in just enough oil to coat.
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Step 6
After the lamb has been in the oven for 4 hours, put the veg in the oven and roast it for 2-2½ hours, until tender.
Make mint sauce
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Step 1
once the veg goes in. Mix all the ingredients with 3 tablespoons of boiling water in a small bowl.
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Step 2
Cook the barley after the veg has been in for an hour. Put the stock and barley in a saucepan and simmer for 35-40 minutes, until tender but still with some bite.
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Step 3
Drain and keep to one side until the veg is ready, then mix the root veg with the barley and parsley, seasoning well.
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Step 4
Skim the fat off the lamb juices and use the leftover sauce for gravy.