It’s another wintery dish made a bit more seasonal by the minty summer vegetables on the side. Yes it’s another very wet and chilly day in Ireland. Rather than get down about it we have turned it into an opportunity and spent all day indoors cooking. We got this recipe from Silver Spoon (the Italian cooking bible) hence the Italian translation above. Perfect for feeding a crowd as easy to prep in advance and the only last minute work is to steam the veg and carve the meat.
Shoulder of Lamb à la Boulangère – to serve 6
- 25g butter, plus a bit extra for greasing
- 1 kg potatoes, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp chopped thyme
- 500g onions, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 kg boneless shoulder of lamb
- 500ml meat or veg stock
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Grease a large ovenproof dish with butter. Make a layer of potatoes on the base of the dish, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with a little thyme and cover with a layer of onions and garlic. Continue making layers until all these ingredients have been used.
- Make a few incisions in the lamb with a little knife, put it on top of the vegetables and season. Pour the stock into the dish, dot the lamb with butter and roast, basting the potatoes now and then, for 30 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven and cover with a sheet of foil, then put it back in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Leave the meat to stand with the cover on for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve with some steamed greens (we used fresh peas and asparagus) with some mint and a drizzle of olive oil.
Wine suggestion: Lamb has traditional matches like Rioja and Bordeaux, so we chose a bottle of Sarget de Gruaud -Larose from St. Julien in Bordeaux and from the classic 2004 vintage. It worked a treat with delightful blackcurrant aromas and flavours overlaid with sophisticated cedar and other sweet spices. As it is more medium bodied, despite powerful flavours it didn’t overwhelm the food and complimented it superbly.
Jono & Jules do food & wine 
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