The first time I went to the Pyrénées and sat down to a whole lamb shoulder – just 500gm – it was amazing. Poor man’s potatoes are common in cheap Spanish eating houses and ‘mum and dad’ restaurants.
Ingredients
Method
Main
1.For roast garlic aïoli, combine garlic and oil in a small saucepan pan and cook over low heat until golden (2-3 hours). Remove garlic, set aside and cool. Remove skin and discard (you will need 100gm). Process garlic and egg yolks in a food processor and, with motor running slowly, add oil in a thin stream until emulsified, season to taste with sea salt. If mixture is too thick, add a little water. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, set aside.
2.Meanwhile, for poor man’s potatoes, preheat oven to 150C fan-forced (see note). Warm oil in a wide pan, add onion, capsicum and garlic and cook over a low heat until soft (25-30 minutes), then season to taste with sea salt. Add wine and reduce until nearly evaporated (8-10 minutes). Add spices and cook for 5 minutes, then add potato, stirring to coat. Add stock and bring to the boil, season to taste and transfer to a buttered 2 litre-capacity baking dish. Pat down potatoes to flatten, cover with baking paper, then foil, and roast until almost tender (30-45 minutes). Remove foil and baking paper and roast until golden brown (15-20 minutes). Keep warm.
3.Make incisions in lamb with a small paring knife and fill each with garlic and parsley. Place lamb, skin-side up, in a roasting dish, season to taste with sea salt and rub with olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 100C fan-forced and roast, basting every 10 minutes, until meat reaches 56C on a meat thermometer or is cooked medium (35-40 minutes). Cover with foil, rest in a warm place then serve with potatoes and aïoli.
Note If your oven is not fan-forced, increase the temperature according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Drink Suggestion: The 2003 Crawford River Cabernet Sauvignon, Henty, Victoria or a Coonawarra wine at least five years old. Drink suggestion by Lok Thornton
Notes