Slow-cooked lamb

Trim excess fat from lamb – be quite ruthless otherwise the cooked result will be too fatty. Use a small, sharp pointy knife and strip out any large pockets or seams of fat. Place 4 long pieces of baking paper on top of each other, 2 horizontally and 2 vertically. Mix butter with cinnamon, oregano, garlic, fennel and lemon zest.

Put lamb, skin side down, on a board. Season generously with sea salt and black pepper and smear with seasoned butter. Move lamb to the centre of the sheets of paper, placing it buttered side down. Season top of lamb with salt and pepper and spread with the remaining butter. Wrap lamb in the paper, then put it in an ovenproof dish – one in which it fits snugly – tucking in any stray paper underneath. 

Bake for 3 hours in an oven preheated to 175°C (fanbake). Remove from oven and snip open paper. Using tongs and a wide spatula, transfer lamb to a carving board; don’t worry if it falls apart – that is as it should be. Break lamb apart into chops and chunks and serve with the Roasted tomato sauce and vegetables.

From Taste magazine, April 2008 .