A first for the books

On New Years Eve on the shores or the Dead Sea I was drawn into eating some lamb after many years of pescotarianism. I topped it off with lamb again later that night in Amman as part of the New Years festivities.

So when I realised that New Zealands national day - Waitangi Day - was to be a Sunday I sent out a commited email to my London Kiwi friends inviting them over for a first ever Lamb Roast. To my surprise they all said yes!

I went to my local Waitrose and had the help of my friendly Butcher to advise me that a Lamb Shoulder roasted on a low temperature is the best kind - and super easy. I wanted super easy. So I picked up a whole shoulder and a half shoulder (and bagged a half boneless leg cos it was on special). the whole shoulder would feed 6-7 apparently and I didn't want to leave anyone hungry. All NZ lamb to support the industry that reared me and the future of my nephew.

I got online and found a recipe by Jamie Oliver. And found this great recipe and it worked a treat. 4 hours later at 160 Celcius the lamb was falling off the bone. I put the vege's in the fat and cooked that slowly for around an hour making it perfect timing for my guests to all arrive.

The lamb was accompanied with Mint Sauce and Gravy, Potatoes, Kumara and Parsnip. Not a scrap was left behind from the 8 guests. The highest praise of all.

I can't end this post without mentioning how the entire day was absolutely brilliant shared with my dear friends - it was better than Xmas 2010 thats for sure!

One New Years resolution Green Flag. Result!

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