Ingredients
1.5kg/3lb 5oz shoulder of lamb on the bone, trimmed of excess fat and sinew, and bone fully cleaned (ask your butcher to prepare this for you)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil, for frying
2 heads garlic
small bunch fresh thyme
For the vegetables
500g/1lb 2oz broad beans, in their pods
250g/9oz fresh peas, in their pods
1 fennel bulb
1 bunch spring onions, trimmed
1 knob butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the garlic purée
2 roasted heads garlic (from roasting process above)
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the kidney sauce
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 lambs' kidneys, finely chopped
1 tbsp English mustard
50ml/2fl oz brandy
1 pint/600ml veal stock
For the canon of lamb
500g/1lb 2oz button mushrooms
3 tbsp vegetable oil
5 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
small bunch fresh thyme, leaves only, chopped
1 splash Madeira
2kg/4lb 8oz canon of lamb (fillets from the best end of lamb; ask your butcher to prepare this for you)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 leeks
For the kidney and sweetbreads
200g/7oz sweetbreads
1 tbsp olive oil
knob of butter
1 lamb's kidney
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 140C/285F/Gas 1.
2. Place the shoulder of lamb into a heavy roasting tray and season it all over with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add a splash of oil, the garlic and half the fresh thyme.
3. Cook the lamb shoulder on the stove over a medium heat, turning occasionally to get a good golden-brown colour all over. Transfer the lamb to the oven to roast uncovered, for one and a half hours. When the lamb is cooked you should be able to put a small sharp knife through the centre of the meat with no resistance. Remove from the tray and leave to rest in a warm place.
4. While the lamb is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Remove the broad beans and peas from their pods. Blanch the beans and peas in separate pans of boiling salted water until tender. The beans should take 3-4 minutes, the peas 1-2 minutes.
5. Drain the beans and peas and refresh in iced water. Remove the outer skins from the beans and set the beans and peas aside.
6. Blanch the whole fennel in boiling salted water for three minutes, then refresh in iced water and set aside.
7. Blanch the spring onions for a few seconds in boiling salted water, then refresh in iced water and set aside.
8. for the garlic purée, remove the garlic from the roasting tin and remove all the roasted garlic flesh from its skins. Fry the garlic flesh in one tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan for 2-3 minutes, until light golden-brown all over. Add the cream and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Blend to a purée with a hand blender, then set aside.
9. For the kidney sauce, fry the shallots in the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat until golden-brown.
10. Add the chopped kidneys to the shallots and fry for a minute.
11. Add the mustard and brandy, stir well and cook to reduce the liquid by half. Add the veal stock, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes to reduce the liquid by half again.
12. Drain and finely chop the blanched fennel and stir into the kidney sauce, then set the sauce aside off the heat.
13. For the canon of lamb, wash the button mushrooms, drain and pat them dry on kitchen paper. Fry them whole in two tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a low heat, until softened. Transfer the mushrooms to a chopping board and finely chop them.
14. Fry the shallots, garlic and chopped thyme in the remaining one tablespoon of oil in a separate pan, until softened. When the shallots and garlic are softened, add the chopped mushrooms to the pan and cook to remove any excess moisture.
15. Add a splash of Madeira, season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook until the mushroom mixture is dry.
16. For the canon of lamb, season the canon of lamb all over with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fry quickly in one tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy frying pan over a high heat for 2-3 minutes, until golden-brown all over. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
17. Place a large sheet of cling film onto a work surface and smooth out any wrinkles. Place a spoonful of the mushroom and shallot mixture onto the cling film and spread it out with the back of a spoon so it covers an area the same length as the canon of lamb and twice the width.
18. Place the canon of lamb into the middle of the mushroom mixture layer and roll up in the cling film. Tie both ends tightly with string and transfer to the fridge to chill for one hour.
19. Meanwhile, separate the leaves of the leeks, keeping them whole. Choose about 8-10 of the best quality leaves (try a combination of deep green and white ones). Blanch the leaves in boiling salted water for ten seconds, then refresh in iced water. Drain the leek leaves, dry and trim to equal lengths.
20. Lay two large sheets of cling film on top of each other on a flat surface and smooth out any wrinkles. Place the leek leaves next to each other on the cling film, overlapping them slightly so they form a rectangular sheet of leaves, roughly the same size of the canon of lamb.
21. Remove the lamb from the fridge and carefully unwrap the cling film. Place the canon of lamb onto the leek leaves, in the same way as you laid it onto the mushrooms and roll up as before so that the lamb is wrapped in leek. Wrap in the cling film and tie at both ends tightly with string. Place the leek-wrapped lamb into a steamer and steam for 8-12 minutes, or until cooked to your liking. Remove and leave to rest, still wrapped, for half its cooking time.
22. Slice the shoulder of lamb to create four good slices (you will have leftovers). Place the slices of the lamb shoulder into a hot frying pan with some hot oil, just to give some colour, then leave to rest in a warm place for 5-10 minutes.
23. For the kidney and sweetbreads, peel off any excess fat from the sweetbreads, then blanch them in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes. Refresh them in iced water and set aside.
24. Heat a frying pan, add a splash of olive oil and a knob of butter. Season the remaining kidney with salt and freshly ground black pepper and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until golden-brown all over.
25. Drain and dry the sweetbreads, then add to the frying pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until both the kidney and sweetbreads are cooked though. Set aside in a warm place.
26. To finish the vegetables, place the blanched peas, broad beans and spring onions into a large pan over a medium heat with a knob of butter. Fry for 1-2 minutes and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
27. To serve, place a spoonful of kidney sauce and a spoonful of garlic purée onto each plate. Place a slice of lamb shoulder onto each plate. Slice the canon of lamb and place one slice onto each plate (you will have leftovers), then add a piece of sautéed sweetbread and some a slice of kidney over the top of each piece of lamb. Place a spoonful of the vegetables around the dish and finish with another spoonful of kidney sauce drizzled around.
