This is so easy to make, taste amazing and looks impressive enough for a Saturday night supper or a Sunday lunch gathering with friends and family. The lamb is rubbed with spices and then slowly roasted until it falls apart. Served with cous cous or a pilaf, some roasted vegetables (aubergines, peppers, onions, courgettes) and a cucumber raita this should feed six comfortably.

You will need…

2kg shoulder of lamb.

Spice rub: 2 tbsp light olive oil, 1 teaspoon each of smoked Pimenton paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cinnamon & ground black pepper plus 2 fat cloves of garlic, crushed into a paste with 2 tsp of Maldon salt.

To make…

• Mix the spice rub ingredients together thoroughly to make a thick paste.
• Make deep slashes in the lamb shoulder, mix the paste into all the slashes and the outside of the lamb. Place it in a roasting tray and cover with cling film and leave overnight or at least two hours before cooking the meat to allow all the flavours to penetrate the meat.
• Remove the cling film and bring the meat up to room temperature if you’ve had it stored in the fridge – it might take about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 220°C.
• Put the lamb in the oven to sizzle for 25 minutes, pour off any excess fat, reduce the temperature to 160°, cover tightly with tin foil and then return to the oven for another two hours.
• Check after two hours. The meat should be falling off the bone. If it isn’t, pour off the juices in the roasting tin into a small saucepan, then return it to the oven for up to 45 minutes.
• The liquid you pour off can be reduced by simmering it gently on the hob – it makes a delicious sauce. Skim off any excess fat and taste it to see if you need to add any more salt or pepper.
• When the meat is done, take it out of the oven, keep it covered and let it rest for 10 minutes.
• To serve, pull out the bone and carve it/pull it into rough chunks. I usually serve it in a large bowl so I can pour the sauce over it and everyone can help themselves at the table. Scatter with a little chopped flat leaf parsley or coriander.

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