Tender Roast Lamb with Baked Apples

It's been quite some time since I published a recipe, so today's a good time as any. I'd originally wanted to do it over Christmas, but since I didn't have a computer then, I put it off.

 

Ingredients:

2 shoulders of lamb (about 2 kg)
Rosemary sprigs
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
1 teaspoon cornflour

You can use leg of lamb, if you prefer. Legs have more meat, but shoulders are tastier.

The first thing to do is to heat the oven to maximum (normally about 230ºC).

Place a few rosemary sprigs and some garlic cloves at the bottom of an oven tray. Make sure the tray is deep enough to collect the juices which will be formed - see image below. Roughly slit the fatty side of the lamb. Season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Place more rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves on top of the meat.

Completely cover the tray with aluminium foil. Place it in the oven, reducing the temperature immediately to 175ºC.

Then, you can put your feet up, watch a film, read a book, or even take a walk!

Come back 4 hours later, and you will find incredibly tender and succulent lamb that melts in your mouth.

 

Remove the rosemary and the garlic from the lamb, and transfer the latter to a serving dish. Strain the juice onto a saucepan. Place a teaspoon of cornflour in a cup. Pour in a little cold water and stir to dissolve. Pour in this mixture into the saucepan, stirring constantly. Serve it with the lamb.

If you need more gravy, you can add some stock (chicken or vegetable) or, if you prefer, red wine. I generally find there to be enough gravy, without needing to add more liquid.

As a side dish, I usually roast some potatoes and sweet potatoes, as seen in the picture below. 

Sometimes, I include a baked apple.

Baking apples are easy. For baking, green apples are better than red.

Scoop out the core of the apples. Try not to cut all the way through. Put a pinch of brown sugar, a little butter, and a dash of brandy or apple liqueur into this "hole". Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 175ºC for about 25 minutes.

Another excellent way of serving this lamb is with couscous. Try it!

The image of the cooked lamb you see above was actually taken after 3 1/2 hours of cooking - it was getting too late for lunch!