Pint Shop recipe: warm spring lamb with hazelnut & watercress sauce

Serves 6-8

For the lamb:

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Coriander Seeds

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

3 tbsp Rapeseed Oil

1 (1.5kg) Spring Lamb Shoulder on the bone

1 Leek – 3cm pieces

2 Sticks celery – 3 cm pieces      

7 Shallots – Cut in Half

2 Carrots – 1cm slices

4 Bay Leaves

6 sprigs Rosemary      

1.5ltr Chicken Stock

¼ Nutmeg  

Maldon Salt & Black Pepper to taste (more to season the lamb)

1 Lemon – Zest only

Watercress and Hazelnut Sauce:

Ingredients:

100g (1pkt) Watercress – Stalks removed

Asmall bunch Basil – Stalks removed

50g Hazelnuts – Toasted

50g Berkswell* –  Finely Grated

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Lemons – Juice & Zest          

1 tsp Honey

100ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Decent

Salt and Pepper to taste                                   

Sourdough: 1 slice per person and a few more for seconds

Method - Lamb:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 120°C
2. Season the lamb
3. Heat a heavy based pan (needs a lid) on a medium heat and toast the cumin & coriander, then remove and cool and roughly grind in a pestle and mortar
4. Add the Rapeseed oil to the pan and turn to a medium to high heat, add the lamb and brown on all sides, then remove and set aside
5. Add the veggies, bay and rosemary and brown off, once tender and they have taken on some colour add the ground spices and cook for 1 minute until the aroma hits your nose
6. Now pop the lamb back and add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer, now cover with a disc of grease proof and pop the lid on and place in the oven. 
7. Cook for 3-4hrs, until the meat will easily pull away from the bone
8. Remove from the oven and leave to cool until you can comfortably handle the meat.  Take the meat and strain veggies and herbs (discard the rosemary stalks) and keep the liquor
9. Place the liquor back on the burner on a high heat and reduce by 2/3, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Skim the fat off as you go.
10. Pick the meat off the bone into 4-5cm pieces, removing any fat and sinew.  Place back into the liquor along with veggie

Its best left to mature overnight in the fridge

Method – Watercress sauce

1. Place the garlic in a small pan of water and bring to the boil, then drain the water off and repeat this 3 times – this mellows the flavour
2. Add the toasted hazelnuts to the food processor and pulse to a course chop, and then pop into a bowl
3. Roughly chop the basil and watercress and add to the processor along with the garlic and pulse to a fine chop and add to the bowl with the hazelnuts
4.  Add the rest of the ingredients and thoroughly mix and check the seasoning.

Assembly

1. Warm the lamb up in the oven on 140°C until hot
2. Toast the sourdough ideally on the a griddle pan
3. Once the lamb is hot scatter over the lemon zest, serve with the piles of grilled bread and the sauce.

*If you can’t get Berkswell a decent pecorino will be nearly as good!