Roast Lamb with a Mint Caper Sauce

For my second to last blog, I am going to share one of my favorite recipes of all time. Now some people are scared to step outside of their comfort zone when it comes to food. However, I promise that if you do for this that you will be in love. Well at least I was! I made this for the first time this past Easter and it has become one of my favorites. It is also a very easy meal to make. So what are we making? Incredible roasted shoulder of lamb with a mint caper sauce. Traditionally, lamb is usually served with mint jelly. I don't know if you have ever tried mint jelly but it is not a great thing (at least that is my opinion). Though this sauce may sound interesting it is the perfect match for the lamb because the flavors are not too strong. I really hope that you will try this recipe and hope that you will enjoy! You can pair this with a salad and any kind of seasonal vegetable or garlic mashed potatoes.

Lamb

1 (2.2-pound) shoulder of lamb (buy the shoulder of lamb without the bone)

Olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch fresh rosemary

1 bulb garlic, unpeeled, broken into cloves

For the sauce:

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 cups good-quality hot low sodium chicken stock

2 heaped tablespoons capers, soaked, drained and chopped

1 large bunch fresh mint, leaves picked

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Preheat your oven to full heat (450 degrees to 500 degrees). The trick to making this lamb great is to have a very  hot oven and turning the heat down when the lamb goes in the oven. This will help to make it very tender and juicy.

Cut the fat side of the lamb all over with a sharp knife. Lay half the sprigs of rosemary and half the garlic cloves on the bottom of a high-sided roasting pan. Rub the lamb all over with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place it in the pan on top of the rosemary and garlic, and put the rest of the rosemary and garlic on top of the lamb. Tightly cover the tray with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Turn the oven down immediately to 325 degrees F and cook for 4 hours - it's done if you can pull the meat apart easily with 2 forks.

Sauce:

Remove the lamb from the oven and place it on a chopping board. Cover it with foil, then a kitchen towel, and leave it to rest. 

 Pour away most of the fat from the roasting pan, discarding any bits of rosemary and the cloves of garlic. Put the pan on the stovetop over medium heat and mix in the flour. Add the stock, stirring and scraping all the sticky goodness off the bottom of the pan. You won't need gallons of gravy, just a couple of flavorsome spoonfuls for each serving. Add the capers, turn the heat down and simmer for a few minutes. Finely chop the mint and add it to the sauce with the red wine vinegar at the last minute then pour into a pitcher.

When you serve the lamb each person can pour on however much sauce that they want.

I really hope that you all will enjoy this recipe!

I have really enjoyed writing this blog and I hope that maybe I have given you some ideas for your own recipes. Cooking can be a very very enjoyable thing if you make it one. Picking out foods that you and your family like and spicing them up in different ways can make any dining experience great. Don't be afraid to experiment to your hearts content! If it goes wrong there is always the next time.

For the last time Buon Appetito!!!