Rachel Allen

Divine slow-cooked lamb

It’s a cold, blustery November morning, and you’re wondering what to cook for supper tonight. Can I recommend you hop down to your local butcher and buy a nice bit of lamb? The three recipes featured today all call for the most frugal cuts, which are used less often. The one thing they do require is long, slow cooking to give you succulent meat that’s meltingly tender.

The lamb and butter beans casserole recipe, right, has a gremolata scattered over the top, which brings a fresh, zingy zestiness to what could otherwise be something quite heavy. Used as a condiment in Italy, often for a classic

osso buco alla Milanese (a braised veal shank dish) a gremolata sometimes contains anchovies, which, if you fancy, would work well in this recipe.

Lamb neck shares its traits with other less used cuts of meat, such as the shoulder and the shank. They’re much more economical than the loin, leg or fillet, and, when treated well — with long, slow cooking — their flavour and texture is just as delicious, if not more so. This recipe, far right, is a slow roast with

“Can I recommend you hop down to your local butcher and buy a nice bit of lamb?”

Middle Eastern vibes; at 140°C, 275°F, Gas 1, you can just leave the oven to do its important work, slowly rendering the fat and breaking down the meat so it is completely tender. I love the golden couscous, which soaks up all the lamb’s juices. If you have any leftovers the next day, pile them all into a split warm pitta bread for the ultimate cheeky feast.