Seven hour braised shoulder of lamb

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 70C/gas 1/8.

2. Season the lamb liberally with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a roasting tray and brown the shoulder on all sides. Add the onions, garlic and herbs. Lightly brown the vegetables.

3. Remove the meat and vegetables from the tray. Pour in the white wine and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to dissolve any caramelised meat juices. Return the meat and vegetables to the pan, cover tightly with tin foil and put into the oven.

4. After 1 hour, remove the foil and add enough water to have about 1cm of liquid covering the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook uncovered for 4 hours, adding more liquid as necessary to baste the shoulder.

5. After 4 hours, remove the meat from the pan and strain any liquid through a sieve - you should have roughly 300-400ml. Discard the herbs and vegetables.

6. Increase the oven temperature to 80C/gas 1/2.

7. For the boulangere: soften the onions in a little butter.

8. Spread the onions onto the roasting tray and lay the sliced potatoes, overlapping on top. Sit the meat on top of the potatoes, pour the liquid over the lamb and add more water till the potatoes are just covered.

9. Put the pan back into the oven for another 2 hours, basting the meat and potatoes occasionally. You will have the most tender piece of meat imaginable, with the tastiest potato garnish.