Super Tender Lamb Shoulder Roast

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 170°C (340°F).
• Lightly cover bottom of baking pan with some cooking oil, I find it easier to do using a pastry brush. Completely cover oiled pan with fresh rosemary branches, leaving about 5 or 6 branches to put on top of the roast.
• Peel all the outer skin of the whole garlic knob and break off the cloves. Do not peel garlic cloves; spread about 3/4 of them over the rosemary on pan bottom.
• Place roast on top of this and lightly paint it with some more of the cooking oil, lightly sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of flour over the top of roast and gently rub it in with your fingers. Cover with the remainder of the rosemary and the garlic cloves. Completely cover pan with cooking foil and tuck it in firmly all around. Place into preheated oven and cook for approx 4 hours (depending on size of roast). Do not remove foil during cooking time, when cooked properly meat should be moist and tender and should also fall away from bone very easily.
• About 1 hour before roast is cooked peel potatoes and carrots. Cut into large cubes, put into saucepan with salt to taste and cook until it is soft enough to roughly mash.
• Whilst potato is cooking prepare silverbeet or spinach leaves. Cut off most of the white stalks and roughly chop green leaves. Place into cold water salted to taste. Bring to boil, turn heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
• When potato and carrot are cooked, drain off all the water & roughly mash. Mix with 3/4 tablespoon of butter, finely chopped fresh parsley and finely chopped mild onion. Place in warm serving dish. Place in warm oven (at 100 - 150 degrees Celsius to keep warm whilst preparing remainder of meal.
• Drain silverbeet or spinach of all water, mix in 1/4-tablespoon butter and 1/4 teaspoon of cracked pepper. Take 2 garlic cloves from the meat and gently squeeze until garlic comes out of its skin, mash it and put into silverbeet or spinach and mix thoroughly. Place into warm serving bowl and put into warm oven along side of potato & carrot.
• Remove roast from pan and place on warm serving dish, pull out all the bone that can easily be removed. Place Rosemary around meat to garnish. Remove all garlic cloves and put them to one side. Cover roast with cooking foil. Put into oven with vegetables to keep warm whilst making gravy.
• Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of juice from baking pan. Pick garlic cloves up in your fingers (careful they may still be a little hot) gently squeeze them and the cooked garlic will come out of the outer shell. Mash some of it (about 6-7 cloves) put into baking pan, mix in rest of flour, gently mix in the chicken stock so that you do not get any lumps. When this is done, place all the fresh mint into the gravy and put pan over a light to medium heat and stir continuously until it thickens. Turn heat down to lowest level and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Serve your meal on warmed dinner plates and enjoy!