Roast shoulder of mutton (or lamb) with chickpeas, lemon, cumin, garlic and parsley

Roast shoulder of mutton (or lamb) with chickpeas, lemon, cumin, garlic and parsley

Summer

I love mutton. It’s absolutely wonderful. It’s got acres of character and spades of flavour, and the meat is rich, claret dark and marbled with ivory fat. A whole shoulder responds beautifully to slow roasting, in this case with lots of warming spices. As the shoulder cooks gently in the oven it becomes incredibly tender and its flavoursome juices and fat mingle with the onions, garlic and chickpeas. Serve it simply with a sharply dressed tomato salad and some warm flatbreads for soaking up the juices.

Note: You can do the same thing with lamb or hogget.

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients

  • 2.5kg mutton or lamb shoulder
  • 350g dried chickpeas
  • 500ml of lamb, chicken or beef stock
  • 2 onions, finely sliced
  • 6 cloves garlic, finely sliced
  • 1 medium hot chilli, thinly sliced
  • 3 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
  • 3 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
  • 1 tsp fenugreek seeds, toasted and crushed
  • 4 sprigs rosemary
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice
  • 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt

Method

Put the chickpeas into a large bowl, cover with plenty of fresh cold water and soak for 12 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Sit the mutton shoulder in a large deep roasting tray. Trickle over half the olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place in the hot oven for 20 to 30 minutes so that it takes on some colour.

Meanwhile place the onions in a pan and season with a little salt and pepper. Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften and smell fragrant. Add the soaked drained chickpeas and cook them with the onions for a further 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and bring up to a gentle simmer.

Take the roasting tray from the oven and lift the mutton shoulder out onto a plate. Add the chickpeas to the roasting tray along with the stock, sliced onions, garlic, chilli, toasted crushed spices, lemon zest and rosemary sprigs. Season with salt and pepper and give the tin a shake so everything settles evenly, then place the mutton back on top.

Cover the tray tightly with foil or baking parchment to help seal in the steam as the meat cooks.

Turn the oven down to 150C, place the tray in the middle of the oven and cook slowly for 4 to 5 hours. To test if the meat is ready, lift away the foil and check that the meat is coming away from the bone. It should be fork tender.

Scatter over the chopped flatleaf parsley and the lemon juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Serve the mutton with the chickpeas, a sharply dressed tomato salad and some warm flatbreads or pitta.

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