braised lamb shoulder with olives and lemon
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Every time I see boned lamb shoulder at my local market I pick some up so there's always lamb shoulder in the freezer. Most of the other ingredients I have on hand and my favourite Dodoni feta I pick up at the local fruit shop or deli.
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I've adapted the recipe a little over the past few months. I brown the cubed lamb first in a casserole then deglaze the pan with white wine. That one step reduces the cooking time by an hour. I find using a whole lemon makes the dish too bitter so instead I use some peeled lemon rind and the juice of the lemon. Cooking the braised lamb in a casserole keeps the lamb moist during the long cooking process and there's only one pot to wash and what could be better than that!
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Eventually the feta in the sauce completely disappears forming a delicious sauce. The recipe suggests serving the casserole with a yoghurt sauce and potatoes but I love it served with some orzo, olive bread and a simple salad of greens.
Here's the original recipe for you -
Kouklas’ Braised Lamb Shoulder with Olives and Lemons
Recipe by Cathy McCarthy, Gravelly Beach Tasmania from Gourmet Traveller Greek Issue October 2011
printable recipe
Prep time 25 mins, cook 4 hrs, serves 6
Ingredients
1.5 kg piece of boneless lamb shoulder trimmed and cut into 4 cm pieces
250 gm cherry tomatoes, halved
200 gm pitted Kalamata olives
200 ml dry white wine
200 gm Greek feta, coarsely crumbled
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 lemons halved and thinly sliced
2 tbsp dried Greek oregano
3 fresh bay leaves
Yoghurt sauce
200 gm thick Greek-style yoghurt
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp mint, finely chopped
1. Preheat oven to 150°C. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, season to taste and spread in a large deep baking dish. Cover with baking paper then foil and roast until lamb is tender (3½ - 4 hours)
2. Meanwhile, for yoghurt sauce, combine the ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.
Serve lamb hot with yoghurt sauce, green leaf salad and steamed baby potatoes seasoned to taste and scattered with flat leaf parsley.
Have a great weekend. Bye for now,
Jillian
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