Slow-Cooked Lamb with Lemon

Ingredients

• 2–3 lbs lamb shoulder or lamb shank, preferably on the bone
• 1 head garlic
• 2 carrots
• 1 leek
• 1 onion
• 2 lemons
• oregano
• rosemary
• potatoes
• olive oil
• 1 cup water
• yoghurt
• fresh bread

Method

Marinate the lamb overnight. Combine olive oil, lemon juice from half a lemon, oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper into a loose paste. Work this into every crevice of the shoulder or shank — the acid and salt begin breaking down the muscle proteins while the herbs permeate the meat. A bone-in cut is essential here; the collagen will gelatinise during the long cook and enrich the braising liquid into proper gravy. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

The next morning, remove the lamb from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to take the chill off. Heat your oven to 190°C. Crush the garlic cloves (skins on, unless you prefer them peeled — both work, but skins add tannin to the braise). Cut the carrots, leek and onion into rough 3cm chunks; cut the remaining lemon into quarters; cut potatoes into 4cm pieces. This isn't fine brunoise — you want them chunky enough to hold their shape and create pockets of aromatic-vegetables|aromatics that flavour the braising liquid without disintegrating.

Lay the vegetables across the base of a heavy cast-iron or enamelled dutch-oven-braising|Dutch oven. Set the lamb on top, pour over the reserved marinade and 250ml water — just enough to come halfway up the meat. The vegetables insulate the bottom from direct heat; the meat braises in the steam and fat above them. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and move to the oven for 2½–3 hours. Check at the 90-minute mark: the liquid should simmer steadily, not boil hard. If it's drying, add 100ml water. You're aiming for the meat to collapse under the gentlest pressure from a fork and the connective tissue to have turned completely gelatinous.

After 2½ hours, remove the lid. If the top of the lamb looks pallid and lacks caramelisation, increase the oven to 220°C for 8–10 minutes to develop maillard-reaction|Maillard browning. The surface should darken to chestnut. Rest the meat in the pot for 10 minutes, then pull or shred it directly into the braise. Pour everything — meat, vegetables, liquid — into a serving bowl. The cooking juices will have thickened naturally from collagen and fat. Serve with Greek yoghurt folded through at the table and plenty of bread to soak the gravy.