The shoulder is my favourite cut of lamb. Flavoursome & interesting, the shoulder is a cook’s cut in lots of ways. I like to get my lamb from the halal butcher in Sandringham, right next door to Khyber Spice Invaders, where the meat is reasonably priced & the shoulder comes with the bone in, which means that I do have to bone it myself, which means I can include the bones in the cooking process if I want to, which I usually do, & which I wanted to this week: flavourflavourflavour!
I made a quickfire pumpkin salad to go with all this, as fridaynightdinnerboxers will know, involving chargrilled wedges of pumpkin in olive oil, & an array of my favourite salad things like zests, toasted seeds & herbs from the garden. with this combo, which was rather tasty. Mixed through, worked for me.
Since this little bogging exercise is also part learning curve, part practicing new & old cooking skills, as well as [big part] the discussion/exercise of cooking & eating nice food with/for likeminded cookers & eaters of nice food, the opportunity of doing ones own butchery is one I’ll take when I can. The shoulder is a challenge to bone out. There’s a socket to deal with, & a few ribs to work the knife around, & generally its an awkward little sucker that aint too pretty to look at when all’s finished, even by the pros. Never fear! By the time the dish is done the meat is tender, then awaits a surge of primal satisfaction; a tearing of meaty morsels from bone, & a licking of chops to conclude. to hell with finesse! Unleash the carnivore within from its shackles of civility & savour the moment! then back for what you missed the first time, there’s at the very least a lamb sandwich for tomorrow’s lunch remaining still, you can be sure.
ingredients: the marinade:
shoulder of lamb, ginger, garlic, olive oil, fresh coriander & parsley stalks,white peppercorns, olive oil
method:
*Finely chop/grate everything (no, not the lamb)
*Put all into a mortar & pestle, work it to make a thick slushy paste.
* Coat the lamb & rub it into the meat.
*Place in a bowl & cover, rest over night, or more.
Ingredients: the lamb
Chic peas, onions&garlic, chicken stock, bay, salt, more olive oil
Method:
*Soak the chic peas overnight.
*Preheat oven to about 160 C
*Drain the chic peas & lay them in the bottom of roasting dish.
*Slice the onions in half then in slivers, likewise the garlic, lay on top of the chic peas. add salt, bay.
*Pour over just enough stock to half cover the chick peas, lay the shoulder out & place on top of the onions. Bones too!
*Put the lid on/cover with foil & into the oven for 3-4 hours.
Ingredients: the couscous:
Couscous, olive oil, butter, boiling h2o, lemon zest. parsley
Method:
*pour couscous into a bowl
*pour a little olive oil into yr couscous & mix it all in.
*add a lump of butter
*pour over 1/1 boiling h2o to couscous, i.e: for 500g couscous you need 500g water. As a guide, 1 cup holds 250g water
( “g??” you say?? Yes, g, what the hell, anyway, a litre of water weighs a kilo, so g’s & mls are the same when h2o is the matter)
*once the boiling water is in there, give it one quick stir & seal it with a lid or gladwrap QUICKLY!
*leave it 4 minutes
*lift & give the container/bowl/whatever a solid bang on the bench top, to aerate
*chop the parsley & lemon zest to make gremolata, & add to the couscous as a finishing touch.
Ingredients: yoghurt salad:
natural yoghurt, cucumber, spring onions, mint, cumin&coriander seed
method:
*toast the seeds in a dry pan on the stove top (hear them pop=ready)
*prep veg: dice cucumber, finely slice sp onion, chiffonade mint
*add all to a bowl, add yoghurt, stir once or twice.
Assembling the meal, I sliced the lamb on my bench, going over the bones thoroughly of course, & setting aside. The wet chic peas/onion base, which makes this dish less of a pot roast & more of a braise, was spooned into a bowl with couscous, & some of the cooking juices, to make a base for the meat. The yoghurt salad was then spooned over the meat to finish the dish.
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bon appetit!
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