Italian Roast Lamb

On our way back from brunch yesterday, we stopped in at Waitrose and picked up a little shoulder of lamb for about a fiver. On the whole, most people choose a neat but pricy, boneless joint that's lean and easy to carve. I prefer a shoulder myself, it's fatty and tricky to carve so it can look a bit of a mess on the plate but if you roast it slowly, all afternoon, by tea time, it just falls off the bone, all sweet and tender.
Serves 3 - 4
1.2 - 1.5kg whole shoulder of lamb
2 rosemary sprigs
3 garlic cloves, quartered lengthways
150ml wine vinegar
6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tsp dried oregano

1 Make deep slits in the lamb and stud it with rosemary and garlic. Rub in some sea salt then pour over the vinegar and leave to marinate for 20 - 30 minutes.

2 Pour away the vinegar, cover with foil and roast at 160C for 3 - 4 hours. Put the potatoes in pan of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes; drain well.

3 Drain most of the fat out of the tin then add the potatoes, tossing to coat them in the remaining oil. Sprinkle with oregano and salt and return to the oven. Raise the heat to 180C and roast for 30 minutes until the potatoes are turning golden.

4 Lift the lamb out onto a board, cover with the foil and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Spread the potatoes out in the tin and and raise the oven temperature to 200C and brown and crispen then up a bit while the lamb rests. Serve with gravy and greens.