Delia Slow Cooked Lamb Recipes

ROAST SHOULDER OF LAMB WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY WITH REDCURRANT AND MINT SAUCE

Steps:

• First of all, peel the garlic cloves and slice each one into about 8 pieces, then divide the rosemary into about 16 tiny sprigs. Now, using a small, sharp knife, make 8 little slits into the underside of the lamb and into each slit, push a sliver of garlic and a little sprig of rosemary, then do the same thing on the top side of the lamb. Place the joint into a roasting tin, sprinkle the surface with the sea salt and place it in the oven. After 30 minutes' cooking time, reduce the oven temperature to gas mark 4, 350F, 180C and leave the meat to cook for 1½-1¾ hours, basting the surface of the meat halfway through. When the cooking time is up, remove the meat to a warm serving plate and leave it to relax for 20 minutes before carving. Then spoon off the surplus fat from the roasting tin, letting the wine bubble and reduce to about two-thirds of its original volume. Add some pepper and salt and pour it into a warm serving jug. Then carve the meat, adding a little of the wine-and-meat juices to each portion, and hand the remaining sauce around separately. To make the sauce: All you do is place the redcurrant jelly and wine vinegar in a sacuepan, whisk thoroughly, bringing the mixture up to simmering point and making sure the jelly is dissolved. Then remove it from the heat, add the chopped mint and some seasoning and pour it into a serving bowl or jug.

GREEK LAMB BAKED WITH LEMON AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 2, 150°C. All you do is trim any excess fat from the lamb and cut it into 2.5cm thick rounds. Now tear off a sheet of foil large enough to wrap them in and place in a roasting tin. Arrange the pieces of meat in the centre of the foil. Next, slice 3 of the garlic cloves into slivers and, using the tip of a sharp knife, make incisions in the lamb and insert the pieces of garlic, distributing them as evenly as possible. Now grate the zest from the lemons (reserving it for later), squeeze the lemon juice and pour it over the lamb, adding some seasoning. Fold up the foil to make a parcel, place it in the centre of the oven and cook for 3 hours. Just before serving, chop the remaining clove of garlic and the parsley in a mini-chopper and mix it with the lemon zest. Serve the lamb with the wonderful cooking juices spooned over and sprinkled with the parsley mixture. Note: this is great served with a Greek salad (cucumber chunks, quartered tomatoes, black olives, red onion slices and crumbled feta tossed with olive oil, lemon and garlic), and Oven-sautéed Potatoes with Red Onion, Garlic and Rosemary.

SLOW COOKED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 120C/fan 100C/gas ½. Put your largest lidded casserole on the hob and brown the seasoned leg of lamb on all sides - do this very thoroughly until it is a good dark brown as it will not brown during the cooking. (If you don't do it now, it will end up beige.) If the lamb sticks, add a drizzle of oil - legs of lamb differ. Allow 10 mins on a high heat and put on the cooker fan to remove the smoke. Pour away any fat that has collected in the bottom of the pan.
• Throw in the vegetables, followed by the wine and stock. Season and bring to the boil, then clap on the lid and put in the oven. Bake for 7 hrs, turning twice. After 5 hrs the meat will be cooked and offer no resistance to the knife.
• There is no need to rest the meat when cooked in this way, but to finish the sauce, transfer the meat and vegetables to a serving dish. Strain the sauce into a jug and pour or blot away the fat with kitchen paper. Pour the sauce into a pan then boil the liquid hard to reduce by a quarter, by which time it will be rich and flavoursome. Adjust seasoning, add the Armagnac if you wish, and serve alongside the lamb, which should be served with a spoon, a la cuillère as the French call it.

ROAST LAMB WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY, AND ROSEMARY AND ONION SAUCE

Steps:

• Begin by making about 24 small, deep cuts in the skin of the lamb using a small, sharp knife. Then push a sliver of garlic, followed by a small sprig of rosemary, into each cut, and season the meat generously with salt and freshly milled black pepper. Next, cut the onion in half and place it in the bottom of the roasting tin, then transfer the lamb to the tin to sit on top of the onion halves. Cover the tin loosely with foil, then cook in the oven on a high shelf for 1½ hours. After this, take the foil off and let it cook for another 30 minutes. Remove the lamb from the oven, cover loosely with foil again and allow to rest for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make the Rosemary and Onion Sauce. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and cook the onions over a very gentle heat for about 5 minutes - it's important not to let them colour, so keep an eye on them. While that's happening, bruise the rosemary leaves with a pestle and mortar to release their oil, then chop them very, very finely and add them to the onion. Then continue to cook as gently as possible for a further 15 minutes, again, without letting the onions colour too much. Next, using a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the onions and their buttery juices till smooth, then gradually add the milk, a little at a time, still stirring, followed by the stock, bit by bit, whilst vigorously whisking with a balloon whisk. Now taste and season the sauce with salt and pepper and let it barely simmer on the lowest possible heat for 5 minutes. Next, remove it from the heat, then liquidise or process half of it, then return it to the saucepan to join the other half. Then re-heat gently, add the crème fraîche and pour it into a warmed serving jug. This recipe makes about 1 pint (570 ml) sauce. Need brush up on your gravy skills? Watch Delia's Perfect Gravy Video on this page

LAMB IN THE SLOW COOKER

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb and cook until outside is browned, about 5 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and add onion to the oil in the skillet. Saute until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
• Place onion in the bottom of a slow cooker pot and place the lamb roast on top. Mix water, soy sauce, garlic, and onion soup mix together and pour over the roast. Cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours.
• Remove roast, cover lightly with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes before carving. Mix butter and flour into a paste. Add small pieces of this paste to the hot cooking liquid, mixing well to incorporate. Cook until sauce reaches desired thickness, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Slice roast thinly and serve with gravy.