Preparation timeover 2 hours ------ Cooking timeover 2 hours
Ingredients
For the braised shoulder of lamb
1 tbsp olive oil
25g/1oz butter
duck or goose fat
1 shoulder of spring lamb, blade end, about 900g/2lb
about 800g/1lb 12oz
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the chicken mousse
110g/4oz skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into cubes
½ free-range egg white, lightly beaten
140ml/4½fl oz double cream
For the saddle of lamb
1 saddle of lamb on the bone, with fillet underneath and without the chump ends, about 1.25kg/2lb 12oz (ask the butcher to remove the tough outer skin)
225-250g/8-9oz large-leaf spinach, picked from the stalks
3 tbsp sunflower oil
25g/1oz butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the gravy
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
2 large glasses dry white wine
chicken stock
redcurrant jelly (optional)
For the vegetables
2 tbsp olive oil
40g/1¾oz butter, plus a large knob
275g/10oz new potatoes, peeled and cut into small even-sized cubes
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
sprig mint
about 16 young carrots, scraped
16-24 asparagus spears
Method
1. This recipe needs to be started well in advance. Preheat the oven to 140C/285F/Gas 1.
2. Start by braising the shoulder of lamb. Heat a frying pan over a high heat; then add the olive oil and butter. Add the lamb and turn to sear and lightly brown all over, seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper as you do so. Transfer the lamb to a deep pan and add enough duck or goose fat just to cover. Bring up to a gentle simmer on a medium heat, then cover with a lid or foil. Transfer to the oven and cook for 1½ hours. Lower the heat to 120C/250F/Gas ½ and cook for another 1½ hours. The lamb should be meltingly tender.
3. Carefully lift the lamb out of the fat and set it on a trivet to drain. When the lamb is cool enough to handle, shred about 275g/10oz of the meat with your fingers into a bowl (discarding any fat or gristle); cover and set aside in the fridge. (The rest of the meat can be frozen and used for other dishes, such as the base of a cottage pie; the fat can also be used again.)
4. To make the chicken mousse, purée the chicken breast in a food processor. With a spatula, push the mixture back towards the blades; then add the egg white and process again. Remove the puréed chicken from the food processor. If you want a finer mixture, push the purée through a sieve into a bowl (this is best done a little at a time using the back of a ladle). Don't use too fine a sieve or it will take a long time.
5. Slowly pour the double cream into the chicken purée, beating carefully with a spatula to reach a dropping consistency. Add the shredded braised lamb, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and mix thoroughly. Cover and set aside in the fridge.
6. To prepare the saddle of lamb, use a sharp filleting knife to very carefully remove the whole central bone from the saddle (your butcher can do this for you, but you must emphasise to him that you want it with no holes through the middle of the saddle). Take off the little 'under' fillets of lamb. Set these aside to use later when assembling the dish.
7. Lay the saddle on your worktop, fat side down, and very carefully ease the loins away from the fat, leaving on the work surface a rectangular piece of lamb fat all in one piece. Working really carefully, using a very sharp knife, remove layers from the fat to leave as thin a layer as you can. The aim is to end up with a very thin layer of fat measuring about 32.5cm/13in x 23cm/9in. Trim off any fat or sinew from the loins, then lay them lengthways, side by side, in the centre of the piece of fat.
8. Quickly blanch the spinach in boiling salted water for two minutes. Drain in a colander and refresh immediately under cold running water. Pat dry, spreading out the leaves on a clean tea towel. Lay the spinach leaves over the loins to cover them both completely. In the gap between the two loins, put the lamb and chicken mousse mixture. Place the 'under' fillets of lamb on top of this. Roll up the whole joint in the thin layer of fat and tie very tightly at 2.5cm/1in intervals with butchers' string. Keep in the fridge until about 30 minutes before you are ready to cook.
9. For the gravy, roughly chop the bones from the saddle of lamb and put them in a large pan with the garlic and vegetables, wine and enough stock to cover everything. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer very gently for about four hours, skimming off any scum as it comes to the surface. Strain through a sieve into a clean pan and boil to reduce by at least two-thirds, tasting until the gravy reaches the required depth of flavour. Pass through a very fine sieve and set aside. Stir in a little redcurrant jelly to sweeten when reheating, if wished.
10. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
11. For the saddle of lamb, heat a very large, heavy-based frying pan until hot. Add the sunflower oil and butter and allow to foam; then put the saddle in the pan and turn to sear and brown all over. Lift the saddle onto a rack set in a roasting tin and season well. Roast for 25-35 minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat. When the lamb has finished cooking, remove from the oven and leave to rest for about ten minutes.
12. Cook the vegetables while the meat rests. Heat the oil and the 40g/1¾oz butter in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the potatoes, garlic and mint, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fry the potatoes, keeping them moving in the pan as they start to colour. When the potatoes are tender, drain in a sieve or on kitchen paper.
13. Meanwhile, plunge the carrots and asparagus into boiling salted water and cook for 2-3 minutes, then drain well and toss with a knob of butter and salt and freshly ground black pepper. Reheat the gravy.
14. To serve, snip the string off the lamb and carve into 2.5cm/1in thick slices. (When carved the meat should be perfectly pink inside.) Arrange on the plates surrounded with the vegetables and add a drizzle of gravy.
