Recipe: Spring Lamb with Fennel

The Spanish tend to eat suckling lamb, which is incredibly tender, if a little milky. But it is possible to get slightly older meat from a good butcher, usually aged between 12 and 18 months, known in British butchery as hogget. This is the preferred meat for this recipe, rather than mutton.

Spring is the best season for lamb and this dish, served on top of piles of fennel that have been braised directly beneath the leg or shoulder, is perfect for entertaining. Serve with stacks of baby potatoes roasted whole with plenty of rosemary and garlic, and a heap of simple green salad tossed with asparagus in a mustardy French vinaigrette. Simple food does not get better than this. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large shoulder lamb (approximately 2.5 kg), trimmed
• 3 medium-sized fennel bulbs with stalk and root attached, halved
• 3 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 glass of white or rose wine
• Handful of fresh rosemary
• Salt and pepper

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
2. Trim the lamb then make small incisions all over the meat using the tip of a knife, inserting a small sprig of rosemary into each slit.
3. Mix the cumin, garlic and plenty of salt and pepper into the butter.
4. Massage the butter into the lamb then place on a baking tray on top of the fennel bulbs.
5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, turn over and bake for another 15 minutes, then turn over again.
6. Turn the oven down to 160ºC, add a glass of wine to the pan then cover the lamb with foil and bake for 1.5 hours until the lamb is spoon tender and falling off the bone. 
7. Keep an eye on the lamb while it cooks to make sure it isn’t drying out.
8. Serve the lamb whole in a shallow dish in the middle of the table, pour the juices over it and encourage your guests to pull off chunks with their hands or two forks, rather than carving it.

Tara Stevens is a food writer and cook who splits her time between Barcelona and her cooking school, the Courtyard Kitchen, in the Fez Medina. Passionate about Spanish and Moroccan cuisine, she takes traditional recipes and gives them a modern makeover using local and seasonal ingredients. Follow Tara on Instagram @courtyardkitchenfez and Twitter @taralstevens.