Most of the cooking i do can be made in a snap- ingredients prepared, cooked and served all under the hour. While i’m more than happy with that especially when i’m starving, from time to time, i find myself unable to resist the pull of a slow roast.
I suspect it all started with that Indian curry i made a few months back. It was the first time i ever made anything with a tougher, less popular cut of meat and what an experience it was. I found myself amazed at how a couple of hours of gentle heat transform the tough, muscular chunks of beef shanks into tender, flavourful pieces. It was kind of like watching a little duckling transform into a beautiful, graceful swan right before your eyes- i was instantly hooked.
So when i was doing up my new ‘to try’ recipe index and came across this recipe for slow roasted lamb, i couldn’t go past it.
The little baking tray GT’s multi oven came with proved to be a little problem with the four litres of liquid the original recipe called for. I used a disposable aluminum tray instead and reduced the liquid to just under a litre since i only had enough leftover wine and chicken stock to make up a cup and a half anyway. With my fingers firmly crossed that the liquid was enough to tide it over four long hours and that the ever so sensitive smoke detector would play nice, i sent my baby spring lamb off into the oven to do its thing.
Thankfully, all that finger crossing and waiting paid off- the smoke detector didn’t go off and the lamb was incredibly tender, rich and full of flavour. It was pretty damned good just served with broccolini stir fried with a little garlic.
For once, I’ll be more than happy to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Slow-Roasted Spring Lamb with Broccolini [adapted from delicious' November '07 issue]
Ingredients
1 baby lamb
2 heads garlic, peeled
4 sprigs of rosemary, cut into 4 sections
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup white wine or chicken stock
1 1/2 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
2 bunches broccolini, separated into stalks
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt
- Take lamb out of the fridge an hour before cooking to bring it to room temperature. Preheat oven to 160C. Make 16 small incisions all over the lamb, stuffing a clove of garlic and sprig of rosemary into each incision. Drizzle olive oil and season lamb with black pepper and sea salt. Place lamb on a large roasting pan. Pour white wine and water into pan. Cover pan snugly with aluminium foil and roast for four hours or till lamb is cooked through.
- Remove foil and return lamb back to oven, roasting for another 30 minutes till browned. Remove pan from oven and let lamb rest for 20 minutes before carving. Strain pan juices, if serving
- Meanwhile, thinly slice the remaining garlic cloves and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Blanch broccolini in boiling water for about a minute. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry sliced garlic till fragrant before adding broccolini in and cooking for another minute. Serves 6
