Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Slow Roasted Lamb or Goat Forequarter

Chef: Catherine Bell (founding editor and food director of Dish Magazine) as heard on Nine To Noon Monday 11 June 2012

Tags: slow cooking, roast, lamb, goat

Recipes from South Australia / Tasting Australia Festival

The Elbow Room at the Producers in McLaren Vale is a new restaurant that is gaining a lot of attention. Chef Nigel Rich served the most delicious goat dish for our tasting lunch. If you can’t find goat, a shoulder of lamb works just as well.

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

• 1 forequarter of lamb or goat, boned
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 250 mls approximately red wine or stock
• chopped mint or parsley to garnish

Marinade

• 2 large onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon each sweet smoked paprika, dried oregano and saffron threads
• 1 handful each fresh sage and mint leaves
• 2 handfuls of parsley
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ preserved lemon (rind only)
• 1 tin crushed tomatoes

Method

Trim the meat of any excess fat.

Blend all the ingredients for the marinade in the food processor to make a smooth paste. Rub into the meat and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Oil a roasting pan, scrape most of the marinade from the lamb and place it skin side down. Season well. Reserve the marinade.

Roast 30 minutes then turn the lamb over and cook for a further 20 minutes.

Splash with red wine and/or stock & mix in the marinade. Cover and reduce the heat to 150°C. Cook for a further 2 -2½ hours until the meat is falling apart.

Remove the meat. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and skim any fat off the top (or refrigerate overnight until the fat solidifies and can be easily removed). Reheat the sauce and season. Pull the meat into large pieces and return to the sauce. Serve with couscous or pappardelle pasta, garnish with freshly chopped mint or parsley and with a crisp salad to follow.

Stephen Morris’s wine match

SERAFINO Tempranillo 2007 – McLaren Vale

Ripe tomato based spectrum of fruits on the nose. Initially quite primary without much savoury wood, but with a swirl or two it gets plums and rhubarb on the nose and soft silky wood in the mouth.

CONDADO DE HAZA (Tempranillo) Crianza 2007 – Ribera del Duero

Slow cooked meats, tomatoes and dusty tannins. Hints of liquorice, black currant, baked spices, coffee. Full to mid weight this is a rich and significant winter wine. Crianza means it’s been aged for 2 years (at least 6 months of that in barrel).