Braised Lamb with Celery

Here is a new mouth-watering lamb recipe for you to enjoy on any occasion. Although this recipe will entail two hours of preparation time and three more hours of cooking time, I guarantee that the result will be rewarding as long as you follow these instructions properly.

Ingredients:

Marinade:
4 garlic cloves
salt
freshly ground black pepper
leaves or sprig of rosemary (chopped)

Stock:

chicken pieces (or some chicken bones from the butcher)
2 sticks celery (chopped)
1 carrot (chopped)
1 bulb fennel (chopped)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig rosemary
1 bay leaf
5 whole black peppercorns

Lamb:

1 shoulder of lamb (deboned)
3 tbsp virgin olive oil or rapeseed oil
2 celery hearts (chopped)
4 carrots, cut into sticks
1 bulb fennel (thinly sliced)
4 shallots (sliced)
1½ glasses dry white wine
1 sprig thyme
2 bay leaves

Method:

To prepare the joint of lamb, cut it open and remove the excess fat. Make sure not to remove all the fat because this helps to retain the moisture of the meat throughout the cooking process. In a garlic crusher, crush the garlic with a little salt. Once it turns into a smooth paste, add the rosemary leaves to the crushed garlic and crush it a little more. Then, spread the paste on the inside of the lamb. Roll up the meat and tie it with clean twine or string. Place in a casserole dish, covered. Put aside for about two hours and allow to marinade.

Meanwhile, to make the stock, put all the stock ingredients in a large saucepan, and mix well. Cover with cold water and put on to boil. When boiling, reduce heat and simmer. Skim any scum from the surface of the liquid as you go. Continue this for two hours. Then, strain the stock and remove the vegetables.

Next, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan. Add the carrots, celery, fennel and shallots. Season with freshly ground black pepper and salt. Then, broil them over a high flame, until the vegetables begin to take on a bit of colour. Remove the vegetables from the pan, then sauté the meat over a high flame to brown all of its sides.

Put the vegetables back into the pan. Keep the flame on high to make the ingredients sizzle. Then add the wine, and allow to steam off. When the wine has steamed off, add the herbs and pour the chicken stock to cover the meat. Turn down the heat to low. Cover the dish with damp parchment paper and a close-fitting lid. Cook over the flame for at least 3 hours, turning the meat twice.

When the lamb is tender (it should be falling apart), remove it from the pan and place on a serving dish. Strain the vegetables from the broth and arrange them around the lamb. Cover with aluminium foil and place the dish somewhere warm.

Return the broth to the pan and add the saved chicken stock. Allow to evaporate over a high flame until it thickens and turns into a gravy. Before serving, cut the lamb as you carefully remove the string. Place it in a serving dish, and then pour the gravy over the meat and vegetables.