Roasted.

Sometimes I look at winter dishes - slow roasts, stews, braises etc - and wonder: is this people's way of keeping a heat source going as long as possible so the house is warm too? I know that I relish a slow roast during winter because my oven ends up heating the entire apartment, eliminating my need for an extra heater.

This slow roasted lamb shoulder is a pretty easy and versatile recipe, and the roasted vegetables that accompany it are some of my favourite roast vegetable recipes ever, and I would eat them all on their own, without the meat. It's a surprisingly rich meal, great when it's freezing outside, and nothing says Sunday family lunch like a roast.




Slow roasted lamb shoulder
1 lamb shoulder ( this feeds about 6 people, by my estimation)
Lemon
Spice of choice (fennel, cumin, rosemary...I used fennel in this case)
Garlic

Lightly rub the lamb with oil and squeeze some lemon juice over. Add your spice of choice, and the moisture will help it stick. Marinate in the fridge overnight.

Preheat your oven to 160C. Put the shoulder in a roasting pan with unpeeled cloves of garlic, and rub with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and roast for 3 hrs. Then uncover and roast at 180C for another 20min.



Roasted Cauliflower

This recipe I adapted from Darya Rose, and it's actually really darn good. My favourite way to eating cauliflower to date.

1 head of cauliflower
Olive oil
Salt
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Simply break up the cauliflower into florets, place in a pan with the rest of the ingredients - I added some lamb fat from trimming the lamb to add some extra flavour - and cover. Place in the oven, preferably 180C, but if you're putting it in with the lamb, just leave it in for a little longer, it'll get there. Once the cauliflower gets slightly translucent (about 20min), take the foil off, and let it brown and crisp up slightly.

Roasted Pumpkin

Pumpkin
Garlic
Olive oil

Cut the pumpkin into 1 cm dice. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add some crushed garlic cloves to the pan and roast till tender and slightly browned.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

You can find my easy recipe for roasted brussel sprouts here.



And that's it, really. I had four pans going in the oven at once, and then just made a quick gravy to serve with some butter, flour, worchestershire, beef stock, and cream. Or just use your favourite gravy recipe.

It may seem a little involved, but I think that it's fantastic for a family lunch because it just takes a tiny bit of preparation, and then you're simply enjoying the company of your family and friends while the oven does all the work for you. A hearty roast over the weekend, what more could I ask for?