There are dishes you cook when you're in a hurry, and then there are dishes you cook when time itself is the ingredient. This lamb shoulder belongs to the latter—a recipe that demands patience and rewards it with meat so tender it falls from the bone like silk from a shoulder.
In Italy, we understand the aperitivo hour, but we also understand the long Sunday lunch, the three-hour dinner, the meal that stretches languorously into evening. This is that meal. The lamb braises in wine and aromatics while you sip a Negroni, refill glasses, argue about football, then politics, then philosophy. By the time it's ready, you've lived a whole afternoon.
The meat emerges from the oven glossy with reduced sauce, fragrant with rosemary and garlic, tasting of Tuscan hillsides and Roman trattorias. Serve it with soft polenta or crusty bread to catch every drop of that glossy, wine-dark jus. Pour more wine. This is the Italian art of living well—slowly, sensuously, without apology.
Ingredients
- 2kg lamb shoulder, bone-in
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 brown onions, roughly chopped
- 3 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 400ml red wine (something you'd drink)
- 400g tinned tomatoes
- 500ml chicken or lamb stock
- 3 bay leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Preheat your oven to 160°C. Make small incisions all over the lamb shoulder and insert garlic slices and small rosemary sprigs into each cut. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy-based pot over medium-high heat. Add a generous glug of olive oil. When shimmering, brown the lamb shoulder on all sides until deeply golden—this is where flavour lives. Don't rush this step. Remove lamb and set aside.
- In the same pot, add onions, carrots, and celery. Cook for 8-10 minutes until softened and beginning to caramelise, stirring occasionally. The vegetables should pick up all those lovely browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Pour in the red wine and let it bubble vigorously for 3-4 minutes, scraping up any remaining fond from the bottom. The wine should reduce by about half and smell intoxicating.
- Add tinned tomatoes, stock, bay leaves, and remaining rosemary. Stir to combine, then nestle the lamb shoulder back into the pot. The liquid should come about halfway up the lamb. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Cover with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to the oven. Braise for 3½ to 4 hours, turning the lamb every hour or so, until the meat is fall-apart tender and the sauce has reduced to a glossy, rich consistency.
- Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes. The lamb should be so tender you can pull it apart with two forks—if it needs a knife, it needs more time.
- Transfer lamb to a serving platter. Strain the braising liquid through a sieve if you prefer a smooth sauce, or leave it rustic with the vegetables. Taste and adjust seasoning. Spoon the sauce over the lamb and garnish with fresh rosemary.
- Serve family-style with soft polenta, creamy mashed potatoes, or crusty bread. Pour good red wine. Eat slowly. This is not a Tuesday night dinner—this is la dolce vita on a plate.
Nutritional Information
Per serve (approximate)