How to cook a Stuffed Lamb Shoulder with Wild and Black Garlic
Lamb and Easter go hand in hand, it is one of those pairings we are asked about every year, and yet it is worth pausing on what that lamb actually is. With an early Easter, you are not looking at new season lamb in its truest sense, but last year’s hogget, an older lamb with a bit more size, a bit more depth, and far more flavour. It is a better thing to cook, and a better thing to eat.
That extra maturity is exactly why we have chosen to work with the shoulder, and to bring in the season around it. We have stuffed ours with foraged wild garlic and slow cooked black garlic, letting the freshness and the richness meet somewhere in the middle. It is a joint that rewards a slower pace, something you can put in the oven and leave to do its work while the rest of the day unfolds, whether that is a walk, a catch up with family, or an Easter egg hunt in the garden.
What follows is a simple way of cooking it, the sort of meal that builds itself as it goes, with the lamb sat on a bed of potatoes, the fat working its way down, and everything coming together in the tray.
What you need
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1.5 to 2kg potatoes, cut into thick slices
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Salt and black pepper
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A little olive oil
To serve
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Cavolo nero
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Carrots
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Lemon
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Thick yoghurt
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Olive oil
Method
1. Prepare the base
Heat the oven to 150°C. Lay the sliced potatoes across the base of a roasting tray, season well with salt and pepper, and add a light drizzle of olive oil.
2. Sit the lamb on top
Place the stuffed lamb shoulder directly onto the potatoes. As it cooks, the fat and juices will run down and coat them, which is where much of the flavour comes from.
3. Slow roast
Cook for around 4 hours for a half shoulder, a little longer if cooking whole. Keep the temperature steady and low. The lamb should be tender, soft to carve, and giving.
If you want a touch more colour at the end, turn the oven up to 190°C for the final 15 minutes.
4. Rest
Remove from the oven and rest for at least 20 minutes before carving. This matters. It lets everything settle.
The greens
While the lamb rests, bring together something sharp and fresh to balance it.
Cavolo nero with lemon and yoghurt
Steam or blanch the cavolo nero until just tender. Drain well. Dress with a spoon of yoghurt, a good squeeze of lemon juice, a little zest, salt, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Carrots
Roast or boil until soft, then finish with a little butter or olive oil and seasoning.
To serve
Carve the lamb thickly and serve over the potatoes, which will have taken on all the richness from the roasting tray. Add the greens alongside, letting the lemon and yoghurt cut through the depth of the lamb.