Shoulder of lamb with braised lentils

Meat mains

Shoulder of lamb with braised lentils

Name: Shoulder of lamb with braised lentils
Prep time: 1 h 10 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 3 h 10 min
Yield: 6

Main Serves 6 3h 10 min

Although not offering as high a ratio of lean meat as leg, shoulder has more flavour and benefits from slower cooking. This makes a lovely Easter meal accompanied by a big green salad with lots of rocket. Lentils are amazingly lamb friendly – try reheating them the next day with leftover scraps of lamb and a sausage or two to get even more out of this recipe.

Ingredients

for the roast

1kg joint lamb shoulder
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp dried mint
2 tbsp olive oil

for the lentils

4 streaky bacon rashers, finely chopped
1 each onion, celery stick and carrot, finely chopped
400g dark green lentils, soaked for 1 hr
2 tbsp olive oil
veg stock (double the volume of soaked lentils)
salt and pepper

Method

Prep time: 1h 10 min

Cooking time: 2h

Step 1
Preheat oven to 160°C/Gas 3.
Step 2
Trim the lamb of excess fat and score it with a sharp knife.
Step 3
Crush the garlic, salt, cumin seed and mint in a pestle and mortar. Mix with the olive oil and smear over the lamb. Leave for an hour at room temperature.
Step 4
Place the lamb on a rack in a roasting tray. Roast for 2 hours, turning a couple of times.
Step 5
Meanwhile, fry the bacon, onion, celery and carrot in the olive oil until soft, then add the lentils and stir for 1-2 minutes.
Step 6
Cover with hot stock, season, and gently cook until the lentils are tender (about 30 minutes).
Step 7
Serve the lentils with pieces of roast lamb on top.