SLOW ROAST SHOULDER OF LAMB WITH WILD GARLIC BUTTER

Spring lamb may be an Easter classic, but at this time of year, I prefer hogget. The more mature meat tends to be darker, with a richer, stronger flavour. Many farms supply it by mail order (try heritagemeats. co.uk) – or you could ask your local butcher. Another seasonal favourite of mine, wild garlic is abundant on woodland floors from April to June. It’s available online, too (try maddocksfarmorganics.co.uk). If you can’t find any, replace with spinach and two fat cloves of crushed garlic. Preparation 10 minutes Cooking 5 hours Serves 6 generously

WHOLE SHOULDER OF LAMB OR HOGGET (AROUND 2KG) LARGE GLASS WHITE WINE

150G BUTTER

80G WILD GARLIC LEAVES, ROUGHLY CHOPPED

1 Preheat the oven to 140°C (120°C fan) gas mark 1. Pat the lamb dry with kitchen paper, rub with salt and sprinkle with pepper. Place in a deep baking tray, pour in the white wine and cover tightly with foil. Roast for at least 5 hours, until the meat is soft and pulls apart easily. You could do this overnight – just adjust the oven to 130°C (110°C fan) gas mark ½ and add a glass of water to the tray along with the wine.

2 For the wild garlic butter, about 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve the lamb, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then add the chopped wild garlic leaves. Reduce the heat to a very low simmer and allow the leaves to wilt and infuse for 10 minutes.

3 Serve the lamb on a large board or serving dish, pulling it apart with two forks and dousing it in the wild garlic butter.