Delia Slow Cooked Lamb Food

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

AUTUMN LAMB BRAISED IN BEAUJOLAIS

Steps:

• First, pour 3 tablespoons of the olive oil into the shallow roasting tray and put it into the oven as it pre-heats. Then prepare all the vegetables as follows: scrub the carrots, turnips, and potatoes; top and tail the carrots and turnips, leaving the carrots whole but chopping the turnips (with skins left on) into quarters, and cut the potatoes lengthways into 4 pieces (unpeeled). Now peel the parsnips and cut them into halves; and finally peel the shallots but leave them whole. Now dry the vegetables thoroughly in a clean tea cloth. When the oven is up to temperature, carefully remove the roasting tray, using an oven glove to protect your hands. Place this over a direct medium heat on the hob and spoon the prepared vegetables and the unpeeled garlic into the fat. Turn them over to make sure they are well coated and return the tray to the top shelf of the oven for 25-30 minutes, turning them over at half time so that they roast evenly. While they are in the oven, prepare the lamb by placing it in the roasting tin and rubbing the joint all over with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, some crushed sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper. When the vegetables are nicely tinged brown at the edges, remove them from the oven and set aside. Place the roasting tin with the lamb in the oven, on the highest shelf that will take it, and let it start to roast for 30 minutes or until it has turned a good golden colour. Take the lamb out of the oven, then reduce the temperature to gas mark 3, 325ºF (170ºC) and spoon off any fat to use later. Place the roasting tin over a medium heat on top of the stove, pour in the Beaujolais and baste the meat with it. Then sprinkle with the chopped thyme and rosemary. As soon as the wine begins to bubble, turn off the heat and cover the whole tin with a tent of foil (without it touching the meat). Fold the foil tight under the rim of the tin and replace it in the oven - on the centre shelf this time - and let it continue cooking for 1½ hours. When the time is up, remove the roasting tin from the oven and once again transfer it to direct heat. Carefully remove the foil and baste the meat well with the wine. Spoon the browned vegetables all around in the wine, season them with salt and freshly milled black pepper and pop in the sprigs of thyme and rosemary and the bay leaf. When it has come back to simmering point, replace the foil and cook for a further 1½ hours. After that, remove the meat and vegetables to warmed serving dishes, discarding the sprigs of herbs, then cover to keep warm. Place the roasting tin over direct heat once more and let the sauce reduce. Squeeze the garlic pulp out of the skins into the sauce and whisk this in along with the redcurrant jelly. Taste and season the sauce with salt and freshly milled black pepper, then pour it into a warm serving jug. Sprinkle the lamb and vegetables with the parsley or thyme and serve.

INCREDIBLE SLOW-ROASTED LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat the oven or barbecue (indirect heat, with the hood down) to as hot as it can go.
• Meanwhile, slash 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 tray, rub the lamb all over with olive oil and season with salt and pepper if you wish.
• Place the lamb in the tray 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 aluminium foil and place in the barbecue with the hood closed (or in the oven).
• Immediately turn it down to 170 deg C/325 deg F and cook for 4 hours. When it's done you can pull the meat apart with two forks.
• As an option, if you want vegies you can sneak some carrot/potato/pumpkin into the pan for the last hour or so and remove them before making the gravy.
• Remove the lamb from the tray and place on a chopping board. Cover with aluminium foil, then a tea towel and let it rest while you make the gravy.
• Discard any rosemary stalks and garlic skin (leave the garlic 'meat'), put the tray on the stove and mix in the flour (add a little of the stock to make it easier if you wish).
• Add all the stock, stirring and scraping all the sticky good bits off the bottom of the tray, turn the heat down and simmer for a few minutes.
• Add the mint and the red wine vinegar at the last minute, stir and pour into a jug.
• Shred the lamb with forks to serve.

SLOW COOKED LAMB SHANKS IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 F degrees.
• Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper.
• In a large frying pan brown the lamb shanks on all sides in the olive oil; remove from pan and put into a large casserole dish to keep warm.
• In the same frying pan put in the carrots, onions, garlic, bay leaves and rosemary and cook slowly until nicely colored.
• Pour in the red wine, beef stock, and brown sugar into the frying pan and stir gently bringing it to a low boil.
• Pour the wine mixture over the lamb shanks; top up with water if needed.
• Cover; put in oven and cook for 2 1/2 - 3 hours until very tender.
• Remove the lamb shanks and keep warm and skim the fat off the top of the red wine juices.
• Mix together the cornflour with just a bit of cold water and whisk the cornflour mixture into the red wine juices until desired consistency.
• Serve up on individual plates and enjoy.

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.