Recipes

Slow cooked confit lamb with herb salsa

Gaz Smith
Sat Feb 16 2019 - 06:00
Serves: 4
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 8 hrs 0 mins
Ingredients
  • Half a lamb shoulder – around 1.5 kg
  • 100g oil (you can use duck fat, vegetable oil, butter or lard)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 fresh bay leaf
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • Herb salsa
  • Tarragon
  • Parsley – I prefer curly, but flat works too
  • Basil
  • Mint
  • 1 generous tbsp of each of the above herbs, leaves picked
  • 1 shallot, finely diced
  • 4 anchovies, optional but they really bring the dish together
  • 2 tbsp mint sauce
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Rub the lamb shoulder with the salt and pepper and put it in the pot, broad side down, so as much of the lamb as possible is in contact with the bottom of the slow cooker.

Turn the cooker on to high, and add the oil and seasonings after the lamb. I found that three to four hours on high, then two to three on low – with the lid off – works best.

You should have a nice crust, but if not, whacking it under a hot grill fixes that.

For the salsa, blitz everything together in a food processor. The anchovies will supply the salt, but if you think it needs a pinch of salt, go for it.

If you’re making it in advance, add the vinegar just before serving, so it retains its green colour.

I have a soft spot for mint sauce, and I find it is better here than just fresh mint alone, it brings a rounded sweetness to the salsa.

To serve, slice the lamb, drizzle it with the herby salsa and sprinkle some coarse sea salt over the top.

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