Rolled lamb shoulder

Every year, on the evening before we departed for our long trek to the coast, we would visit my grandparents to say goodbye. At the front door, my gran would hand over a large parcel wrapped in foil to my mom or dad. The next day, at a concrete table somewhere along our route, with ants nipping our ankles, we would unwrap it: cold lamb shoulder.

Serves 6–8

Preparation time 15 minutes Cooking time 3½ hours

YOU NEED

• the crumbs of 8 slices of white bread

• 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped

• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) wholegrain mustard

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• ½ cup (125 ml or 115 g) butter, melted

• 1,5 kg lamb shoulder, deboned

• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) Worcestershire sauce

• 20 ml brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) ground coriander

• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) red wine vinegar

• 1 cup (250 ml) lamb stock

• 500 g baby potatoes, halved

THIS IS HOW

Heat the oven to 180 ºC. Mix the breadcrumbs, rosemary, mustard, garlic and butter to make the filling.

Place the deboned lamb shoulder on a clean wooden board, fat side down. Season well with salt and freshly milled black pepper.

Place the bread stuffing in the centre of the shoulder and tightly roll up the meat. Secure with cooking twine and place in an ovenproof saucepan. Mix the Worcestershire sauce, sugar, coriander and vinegar and spread it all over the lamb shoulder. Pour the stock into the saucepan, cover with the lid and bake it in the oven for 3 hours. Remove the lid, add the potatoes and continue baking until the meat is golden brown and the potatoes are cooked and soft.