Name: Lemony lamb shoulder with potatoes
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 270 min
Total time: 300 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Cape Provencale
Ingredients: 2 lamb large shoulder, bone in; 2 lamb leg; 12 garlic large cloves, peeled; 1/2 tsp sea salt flaky; lemons zest only; 45 ml dried oregano; 30 ml fresh chillies 573; 2 onions large, peeled and sliced; freshly ground black pepper; 375 ml wine dry white; lemon juice only; 2 fresh parsley bunch; 2 kg baby potatoes; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 4 Tbs butter; fresh thyme few sprigs; lemon zest only; butter melted, for brushing

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Ingredients (18)

2	lamb — large shoulder, bone in
2	lamb — leg
12	garlic — large cloves, peeled
1/2 tsp	sea salt — flaky
	lemons — zest only
45 ml	dried oregano
30 ml	fresh chillies — 573
2	onions — large, peeled and sliced
	freshly ground black pepper
375 ml	wine — dry white

plus more for topping up

	lemon — juice only
2	fresh parsley — bunch

for the potatoes:

2 kg	baby potatoes
	salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 Tbs	butter
	fresh thyme — few sprigs
	lemon — zest only
	butter — melted, for brushing

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Method:

Heat the oven to 150°C. Cut any large blobs of fat off the lamb. Finely grate six of the garlic cloves, place in a bowl and stir in the salt, lemon zest, 1 Tbsp (15 ml) of the oregano and the olive oil.

Using a sharp knife, pierce the thick parts of the lamb (top and bottom) in 8–10 places,at a diagonal, to a depth of 3 cm. Push a little garlic paste deep into each cut and rub any remaining paste over the top of the joints. Put the onion slices and remaining garlic cloves into a large roasting pan and place the lamb on top.

Sprinkle with the remaining oregano and plenty of black pepper, pour in the wine and lemon juice and cover tightly with two layers of heavy foil. Place in the oven.

After 3½ hours, remove the foil, turn the heat down to 140 °C and switch off the oven fan. Season the lamb with salt, to taste. Roast, basting now and then with the pan juices, for a further 1½ hours, or until the lamb is brown and sticky and falling off the bone. Top up with more wine and lemon juice if necessary: the liquid in the pan should be about 1 cm deep.

For the potatoes, cut out eight circles of baking paper, each the size of a dinner plate. Prick the potatoes and divide them between the paper circles.

Season with salt and pepper and add a knob of butter, a sprig of thyme, a sprinkling of lemon zest, and any other flavourings you fancy. Fold each circle in half to make a semicircle and tightly seal the edges by making small, overlapping pleats all the way round.

Brush the tops of the parcels with melted butter and place on a baking sheet. An hour before you’re ready to serve the lamb, place the parcels in the oven and bake for the remaining time or until quite tender (see Notes).

Lay a bed of flat-leaf parsley on a large platter and place the lamb on top. Cover with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Pour the juices from the pan into a small jug and skim off the fat. Serve hot, with the potato parcels, and pass the pan juices round in a jug.

Reprinted with
permission of Scrumptious South Africa and published by Random House Struik.