Kitchen Confidential

INGREDIENTS

For the lamb:
Shoulder of lamb on the bone  |  Bottle of red wine  |  3 carrots
2 onions  |  1 stick of celery  |  2 leeks  |  3 cloves garlic  |  2 sprigs of thyme and rosemary
2 tbsp of redcurrant jelly  |  1 tbsp of tomato purée  |  3 pints of lamb stock

For the dauphinoise potato:
1½ kilo of Maris Piper potatoes  |  3 cloves garlic  |  1 sprig of thyme  |  ½ pt of double cream  |  ½ pint milk  |  4 oz of butter

For the purée:
1 cauliflower  |  1 tsp cumin  |  4 oz of butter  |  1 sprig of thyme  |  ½ pint vegetable stock  |  ½ pint double cream

For the cabbage:
1 red cabbage  |  1 star anise  |  1 stick cinnamon  |  8 oz Demerara sugar  |  5 tbsp balsamic vinegar

THE  METHOD

1. Roast the lamb shoulder in a roasting dish for 30 minutes at 220ºC. While it cooks, dice all vegetables and pan-fry in butter until soft, then deglaze with half the bottle of red wine and simmer all until reduced by half. Stir in the tomato purée, rosemary and thyme and add all to the lamb in the oven. Then add the garlic and the stock too and cover with foil to keep in the steam. Roast for four hours at 150ºC. Leave to cool and drain the stock from dish into a pan.

2. Pull the meat off the bone, getting rid of the fat as you go. Also remove the fat from the stock, then heat the pan gently, adding the rest of the wine and the redcurrant jelly. Bring up to temperature and reduce it by a quarter in concentration. Then add the pulled lamb and mix well, seasoning to taste. Take off the heat. Lay out a double layer of cling film on a clear surface. Wait for the mixture to cool. Then place it onto the cling film and roll it into a 6cm wide cylinder, rolling and tightly tying each end. Wrap in foil and leave to set in the fridge overnight.

5. To make the cauliflower purée, chop the cauliflower and add to melted butter and vegetable oil in a pan. Cook until golden and tender, add the cumin and vegetable stock and reduce by three-quarters. Add the double cream and reduce again. Then let the mixture cool, strain (keeping liquid) and blitz in a food processor until smooth, add in enough strained liquid to get a thick purée. Reheat to serve.

6. Slice the cabbage and fry in a big pan with a knob of butter and vegetable oil for five minutes. Add the sugar and cook out, stirring occasionally. Then add the rest of the ingredients and cook all until tender and the liquid has fully reduced, giving the cabbage a lovely glaze. Reheat to serve.