Home Game

Every day I wake up late... and slllowwwww. 

As I delay the inevitability of another day, I consider its possibilities and set out to fill it with productiveness and leisure in almost equal measure.  Aside from being keenly aware that the 'devil' makes work for idle hands (and worse yet for an idle mind), I value getting shit done a little too much to dwindle away the preciousness of unemployment entirely in a fog of midday movies and young adult fiction.

With 'the enterprise' gradually gaining momentum, the line between leisure and productiveness is blurring (which is somewhat inevitable when trying to start a business around something you do for fun), but cooking is still on the right side of that line and slow cooked lamb is the latest in a dynasty of cooking fads to which I have succumbed (one that was immediately preceded by 'Bill Granger's Pork Belly').  Surely it is pure coincidence that it requires the time available to the likes of the me to supervise the many hours of cooking time?

With our household already in the grip of this fad, the Good Weekend published this incredible recipe in their most recent issue, and it bears repeating in writing here for repeating in kitchens elsewhere.  Pictured above at the halfway mark, I followed the recipe faithfully but for the cut of meat (lamb shanks), a reduction in the oil by half, and the addition of some eggplant in the final few hours of cooking... which I also stretched out to six and a half hours at a slightly reduced temperature.  Cooked in a heavy cast iron pot with a lid and served with spinach, sweet potato and homemade tzatziki, this was possibly the best meal I have ever prepared... and it don't half make the house smell good.

Good Weekend Greek Lamb
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup Olive Oil
2 tsp Greek dried Oregano
6 large sprigs thyme, roughly chopped
6 large sprigs rosemary, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 boned lamb shoulder (about 1.5kg), some excess fat removed, but not all of it.
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Begin this recipe the day before.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, except the lamb, salt and pepper. Add the lamb, making sure it is totally covered with the marinade. Refrigerated for at least 12 hours, and up to 24.

Preheat the oven to about 150°C (the temperature will depend on your oven). You can increase the temperature if you need to hurry it up.

Place the meat in a roasting tin and season well with salt and pepper. Roast the lamb for 3-4 hours, basing it from time to time with cooking juices and fat.

When the meat is cooked, leave it to rest for 20 minutes before carving or pulling apart.

n.b. my latest trick is to spoon a generous amount of the liquid from the cooking pot into a small saucepan, and boil it on high until the sauce is reduced so that it can be served separately and poured over the meat and veges.