Jono & Jules do food & wine

So old-fashioned, and all the better for it. This slow-cooked shoulder of lamb with asparagus is a recipe we stumbled upon in a wonderfully dated French cookbook published by St Michael (yes, the old M&S brand). There’s something very comforting about its simplicity: tender lamb, sweet asparagus, and the kind of no-fuss cooking that lets good ingredients shine.

Wine suggestion: For this dish, we went a little off the beaten track and opened a bottle of Domaine la Taille aux Loups Triple Zero, an exceptional Pétillant Naturel from JP Blot. As the name suggests, it’s the ultimate minimal-intervention sparkling: zero chaptalisation, zero liqueur de tirage, zero dosage. Surprisingly rich and structured for a pét-nat, it had just enough freshness to cut through the creamy lamb and enough depth to complement, rather than clash with, the asparagus.

Epaules d’agneau aux asperges – serves 4

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 25g butter
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed with some salt
• 1 kg boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into cubes
• juice of 1 lemon
• 300ml chicken stock
• 250g asparagus spears, snap off the woody ends and trim off and reserve the tips
• 250ml double cream

Heat the oven to 160C.

Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole, then brown the meat in batches, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Melt the butter in the same casserole, add the onion and fry gently until softened. Add the garlic and fry for a further minute, then stir in the lamb and any juices from the plate.

Add the lemon juice, stock and plenty of black pepper, then bring to the boil and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Stir in the asparagus spears (keep the tips for later), then cover and and transfer to the oven for 1½- 2 hours or until the lamb is very tender, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook the reserved asparagus tips in simmer waters until tender, then drain and set aside.

Return the casserole to the top of the stove and spoon away any fat from the surface. Taste the sauce and season to taste. Mix the cream and reserved asparagus tip, then pour over the casserole. Heat through gently, without stirring, then serve.

(Original recipe from French Cooking by Jeni Wright, Octopus Books Limited, 1982.)