Set your main menu in Appearance > Menus

Toggle navigation
Return to Previous Page

Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Fresh Dates & Lemon Cake

Lamb

Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Fresh Dates & Lemon Cake

13/02/2020

Main:  Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Figs
Origin unknown

Dessert:  Lemon Cake
Origin unknown

Hello everyone.  Hope those of you in Sydney are navigating the weird weather and coming out relatively unscathed.

 

One of the things I love about cooking is receiving recipes from friends that have been handed down or across the back fence or torn from books in the dentist’s waiting room.  Nobody can really say where they originated so cooking them truly allows us to put our own slant on things.  This week we have two such recipes.  I have used the measurements as they are in the recipes because I didn’t want to mess things up by converting ounces to mils.  Hopefully you have scales that convert for you.

However, before I go on I have something exciting to tell you.  Well, exciting for me that is.  I have been gifted a Kitchen Aid Artisan stand mixer.  I am over the moon.  Okay, okay, I know what you are thinking…….. yes, get excited over a piece of jewellery or a new handbag.  For me, it is kitchen appliances, in particular this one which I have lusted after for some time now.  If you could see my face you would see I was smiling even whilst typing about it.  Weirdo, right?

 

Okay, back to cooking.  This slow cooked lamb shoulder is the most wonderful combination of flavours.  The dates cook down to a fruity mush that combined with the onions is almost like a relish and because the lamb is finished off with the molasses it is runny, sticky and thick.  This is a fantastic recipe for a busy day because you can put it in the oven and forget it for around 4-5 hours.  Because there is not a whole lot of meat on a shoulder it is advisable to buy two for 8 people.  Don’t bother doubling the dates etc as the quantity for one is ample. This is the sort of food I imagine eating under a huge tree next to a vineyard somewhere gorgeous in Italy (even though the flavours are somewhat more middle eastern). Well, we can dream and food can take us to anywhere in our dreams.  I served this with simple baked potatoes done in the BBQ and some greens. Plates were licked clean and the family is already asking when are they going to get it again.  It was given 10/10.  A little tip – if you can’t find fresh dates, us 300g of medjool dates with the stones removed and 300g of peeled, chopped orchard fruits like apples and pears.

Dessert was so easy I felt guilty.  A beautiful, light lemon cake (made with the new stand mixer).  You don’t even have to cream the butter and sugar first – just throw it all in the bowl and away you go.  I always beat for 7 minutes unless the instructions say otherwise.  The cake is finished off with combined lemon juice and sugar poured over the warm cake.  I served it with cream and berries.  This cake can be warmed in the microwave before serving and it freezes beautifully.  What a fabulous thing to have at the ready for unexpected guests.  Not only a dessert but an afternoon or morning tea treat. 9/10 so I did really well this week.

I do hope you’ll give these two a go.  I think they are a must.  So until next week……

From my table to your with love.x

Slow-cooked Lamb Shoulder with Fresh Dates

  • 2 kg lamb shoulder
  • 600 g fresh dates
  • 4 red onions
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 1 small stick of cinnamon
  • olive oil
  • sea salt and ground pepper
  • 500 ml hot beef or chicken stock
  • 2 tbsp date molasses
  • splash of red wine vinegar

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°. Take your lamb shoulder out of the fridge 20 minutes before you want to cook it. While it is coming up to room temperature, halve the dates and remove the stones (this is easy to do if you cut them through the stem). Peel the onions and slice into 1cm wedges. Crush the garlic with the skins on, using the side of a chef's knife.

  2. When the lamb is ready, pierce it in 4 places and poke in the bay leaves. Scatter the dates, cinnamon stick, onions and garlic, in a large roasting tray and place the lamb on top. Drizzle with a little olive oil, season generously then pour the hot stock into the tray. Take a large piece of baking paper, run it under cold water, scrunch it up and tuck it over the top of the lamb. Tightly cover the tray with foil and place in the oven for 4 hours.

  3. After 4 hours, remove the foil and paper and drizzle the lamb with the date molasses. Return it to the oven and cook for a further 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the lamb is sticky and incredibly tender, and the stock has reduced. Finish by adding a splash of red wine vinegar to the cooked-down dates and onions, season to taste, then serve. It's perfect alongside a bowl of steaming bulgur wheat of coriander roasted potatoes.

 

Lemon Cake

  • 4 oz butter
  • 6 oz self raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 6 oz caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 tbsp milk
  • grated zest of one lemon

  1. Beat all ingredients (I do this for 7 minutes)

  2. Line 8 inch cake tin with greased greaseproof paper

  3. Bake for approx. 50 mins at 180°

  4. Mix together juice of one lemon and 4 oz of caster sugar and pour over the warm cake once removed from the oven.

Tags , , ,

About Author

Wendy

Related posts

Comments are closed

 

 

 

Trying recipes from the myriad of cook books and Delicious Magazines that I had accumulated over the years, coupled with a young Pinot Grigio, this is Wendy's Wine Wednesday.

MOST INTERESTING

Chicken Marbella & Tiramisu Self Saucing Pudding

30/06/2022 Comments Off on Chicken Marbella & Tiramisu Self Saucing Pudding

Roman Chicken with Creamy Mash & Mango Coconut Slice

24/03/2022 Comments Off on Roman Chicken with Creamy Mash & Mango Coconut Slice
JOIN THE NEWSLETTER

© 2019 - All Rights Reserved.