FOOD

SLOW BRAISED LAMB SHOULDER WITH CELERIAC PUREE BEAT those winter blues with this belter of a meat classic.

Long and slow comes to mind but it’s well worth the wait when the meat gets to go so tender. Serves 6 Ingredients:

One tablespoon olive oil

Four shallots – chopped fine

Two cloves garlic – chopped

One teaspoon chopped rosemary

Few leaves fresh mint – shredded

2kg lamb shoulder – boned, flat (St Asaph if possible)

Two tablespoons olive oil

One carrot – roughly chopped

Two sticks of celery – roughly chopped

One onion – roughly chopped

One tablespoon tomato puree

Sprig of thyme and rosemary 300ml red wine 2000ml beef stock 25g butter For the Celeriac Puree 50g Butter One small Celeriac – outer skin removed

200ml Chicken Stock Method: 1. Heat the olive oil and add the shallots, garlic and rosemary. Sauté briefly for three to four minutes, remove from the heat and leave to cool then add the mint. 2. Take the lamb shoulder and season both sides. Lay the fat side down on a chopping board and scatter the shallot mixture on top. 3. Roll the shoulder into a cylinder and secure with string to hold it in place. 4. Heat the olive oil in a casserole pan and seal the lamb until golden on all sides. 5. Add the carrot, celery and onion and sauté in the pan for about two to three minutes. Add the tomato puree, thyme, rosemary, red wine and beef stock. Bring to a gentle simmer – cover with foil and place in an oven at 140ºc for two and a half hours. 6. Remove from the oven, the meat when cut with a knife should flake easily – if not return to the oven for a further 20 minutes. 7. Remove the lamb from the cooking liquor and roll tightly in tin foil – this keeps the lamb in a neat cylinder shape. Leave to cool then put in fridge until ready to serve – strain the liquor through a sieve. 8. For the celeriac puree – take the celeriac and cut into small dice. Heat the butter in a pan and fry the celeriac briefly before adding the stock, simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on before blending till smooth – season to taste. 9. Unroll the lamb from the foil and remove the strings – cut into six even slices. Heat the butter in a small frying pan and fry the lamb on both sides until golden. Place in oven at 180ºc for five minutes to heat through. 10. Heat the cooking liquor and skim off any excess fat from the surface – season to taste and reduce to thicken if necessary. 11. Place the hot celeriac puree in the centre of a plate, adding the lamb on top, sauce around and some additional potatoes and mushrooms if desired.