Braised Lamb Shoulder with Fennel and Orange

Ingredients

• black pepper
• 1 l chicken stock
• 1 whole lamb shoulder (2.5kg), fat lightly scored with a sharp knife
• 2 fennels, cut in 4 wedges each
• 100 g tomato paste
• 1 garlic, 1cm trimmed from the top to expose the cloves
• 2 cinnamons
• 3 red onions, cut in 4 wedges
• 1 red chilli, split in half (deseeded if you like less heat)
• 2 tbsp coriander seed, coarsely crushed in a pestle and mortar
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 60 ml olive oil
• 1 orange, cut in quarters
• 4 bay leaveses
• 2 rosemaries
• 1 orange
• 2 oranges, peeled and sliced in ½ cm thick rounds
• 25 g coriander, roughly chopped
• 25 g mint, roughly chopped
• Crusty sourdough bread, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Scatter the fennel wedges, red onion wedges, garlic bulb, split chilli, quartered orange, orange rounds, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and rosemary across a large high-sided baking dish. Pour the chicken stock around them — the liquid is what coaxes the tomato paste and aromatics into a proper braise rather than a bare roast.
2. In a large bowl, mix the crushed coriander seeds, ground cumin, olive oil, tomato paste, 3 teaspoons of salt and a generous grind of black pepper into a thick, brick-red paste. The oil here matters — it's the carrier that lets the cumin and coriander bloom into the lamb as it cooks low and slow, so the spices taste of themselves rather than dusty.
3. Rub the paste all over the lamb shoulder, working it firmly into the scored fat and right under any flaps. Season the meat generously — a shoulder this size can take a confident hand with salt. Sit the lamb on top of the vegetables.
4. Cover and marinate in the fridge overnight, or for at least 3 hours at room temperature. Don't skip this — the salt and acid from the tomato paste need time to work into the meat.
5. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Cover the dish tightly with foil — really seal the edges, you want a steamy chamber in there — and slide it in.
6. Braise for 4½ hours, until the lamb pulls apart with the gentlest tug of a fork and the fennel and onions have collapsed into the juices. The garlic bulb will be soft and sweet by now; nestled in liquid the whole time, it can't burn or turn bitter the way exposed cloves would.
7. Lift the dish out and crank the oven up to 200°C. Set the foil aside — you'll need it again in twenty minutes.
8. Baste the lamb generously with the pan juices and return it uncovered to the oven for 30 minutes, basting every 10 minutes. You're after deep mahogany on top with crisp, lacquered edges where the fat has rendered and caught.
9. Remove from the oven, re-cover loosely with the reserved foil and rest for a full 30 minutes. Non-negotiable for a shoulder this size — cut too soon and the juices run out onto the board instead of staying in the meat.
10. While it rests, stir the chopped coriander and mint together in a small bowl with a pinch of salt. Taste the braising juices in the dish too — after four and a half hours they should be rich and rounded, but adjust the salt now if they need it, not at the table.
11. Lift the lamb and softened vegetables onto a large serving platter. Strain the juices into a warm jug. Spoon the spiced braising juices over the meat, scatter fresh parsley across the platter, and serve the herb salsa alongside with crusty sourdough for mopping.