Serves 4-6, 10 minutes preparation, 3-4 hours cooking

For something a little different why not serve a succulent lamb joint for your next roast dinner? It couldn’t be easier with the help of our straight-forward recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 x 2.5kg/5½lb shoulder of lamb
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, snipped into 2.5cm/1in lengths
• 3 lemons, thickly sliced
• 2 red onions, peeled, thickly sliced
• 150ml/5fl oz red wine
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 200ml/7fl oz chicken stock

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.
2. Rub the shoulder of lamb all over with the olive oil, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Using a sharp knife make small incisions all over the shoulder of lamb then push a piece of rosemary into each incision.
4. Next, place the thick slices of lemon and red onion in the bottom of a deep sided roasting tin. Place the shoulder of lamb on top and cover with aluminium foil.
5. Roast the lamb in the oven for 3-4 hours, basting every hour or so with the juices in the roasting tray. Remove the foil after two hours then continue to cook until the meat is very tender and falling off of the bone. Once cooked, remove the lamb from the tray and set aside to rest.
6. Place the roasting tray over a medium heat on the hob and pour in the red wine to deglaze and simmer until the volume of liquid has reduced by half, stirring well and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon to get maximum flavour.
7. Once the wine has reduced, whisk in the flour and simmer the mixture for 1-2 minutes then add the stock and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
8. Strain the gravy mixture through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan then season to taste with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.
9. Serve the lamb and gravy with your favourite vegetables.