Slow Roasted Shoulder of Lamb with Mashed Veg, Peas and Caper and Mint Sauce

Lamb is almost certainly my favorite meat. So it brings me great pleasure to open this blog with the most tender, delicious lamb I've ever cooked! We adapted and scaled down Jamie Oliver's recipe, Incredible Roasted Shoulder of Lamb with Smashed Veg and Greens. This will serve four, or a romantic meal for two and some left overs for a few lunches!

For the lamb

• 800g boneless shoulder of lamb 
• 2tsp dried rosemary 
• 1 bulb of garlic, broken into cloves and peeled 
• Olive oil 
• Salt and pepper 

For the mashed veg

• 500g potatoes, cut into large chunks 
• 4 carrots, cut into small chunks 
• 1 medium swede, cut into small chunks 
• 50g butter 

For the sauce

• 1/2 tbsp plain flour 
• 250ml veg stock 
• 1tbsp capers 
• A large bunch of fresh mint, chopped 
• 1tbsp balsamic vinegar 

For the peas

• Frozen Peas (However much you want!) 

Preheat the oven to 220°C

Place half of the garlic, and 1tsp of rosemary in the bottom of a roasting dish.

With a sharp knife, score the fat of the lamb, trying not to cut the string. If the string comes lose, don't worry - The lamb will fall apart when cooking anyway. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil and rub all over the lamb with your hands. Place the lamb on top of the garlic and rosemary in the roasting dish. Push the remaining garlic into the top of the lamb, then sprinkle the other tsp of rosemary on top.

Wrap the roasting dish tightly in tinfoil, and then place in the oven. Immediately turn down the oven to 170°C, and leave for 3 hours.

With 20 minutes remaining (i.e. once the lamb has been in the oven for 2hrs 50), place the potatoes, carrots and swede into boiling water with salt, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Take the roasting dish out of the oven. The lamb is done when you can tear it apart with two forks. If it isn't done, stick it in for a little longer. If it is, wrap it in tin foil and leave it to cool for 10 minutes. For the sauce, pour the lamb juices into a saucepan, add flour and vegetable stock, and simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes.

In a separate saucepan, pour the frozen peas in the boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes.

Drain the vegetables, add the butter and mash.

Add the capers, mint and vinegar to the sauce and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Serve the mashed vegetables first. Carving the lamb should be easy - just serve it in nice lumps of meat on top of the mash. Drain the peas and serve around the side, then pour the sauce on top of the lamb.

We served it with a 2006 Rioja Reserva, which worked nicely with the lamb.