Six-Hour-Braised Shoulder of Lamb with le Puy Lentils, Rosemary Pesto and Garlic
(serves four with leftovers)
1 2‑kg shoulder of Welsh lamb
4 heads garlic, one minced, the others whole with tops cut off
3 tbsps pesto
leaves of 2 stalks rosemary
1 cup le Puy lentils, dried
Line a roasting dish with aluminum foil (trust me, you will thank me later) and place the shoulder of lamb in it. Run the pesto through the food processor with the rosemary leaves and the minced garlic. Smear the lamb with the pesto and place the three whole garlic cloves upright in the cooking dish. Scatter the lentils all around. Don’t worry that they are dried; the lamb juices will cook them.
Cook at 140C, 280F for about six hours, covered with foil. After about three hours, begin basting every half hour or so (only if you’re home to do so; obviously you can leave it to cook on its own if need be).
About half an hour before you want to eat, drain all the cooking liquid (leaving the lentils and garlic behind in the dish) from the dish into a fat separator (a very clever implement that looks like a measuring cup, talks like a measuring cup, but actually separates the fat from the good stuff in potential gravy). Pour the good stuff into a little saucepan and discard the fat.
Scoop up all the nicely cooked lentils and hide them under the lamb. Turn up the heat to 220C, 450F and place the lamb, uncovered, back in the oven. Meanwhile, heat the gravy in the saucepan and add just a little flour (depending on the amount of liquid you have, probably you will not want more than a tablespoon) and whisk carefully till flour is dissolved. Remove lamb from oven 15 minutes from serving time, cover with foil and let rest. Let the gravy cook for the time the lamb rests. Serve the lamb sliced thick, with lentils on the side. Scoop the cooked garlic from the cloves and spread on toasted bread.
