Cooking your lamb this way will give you super-tender meat that just falls off the bone. Because of the silky white beans, you don’t necessarily need roasties with this, but in-season Jersey Royals are never out of place.
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Yields:
6
Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
3 hrs 55 mins
Total Time:
4 hrs 10 mins
Cal/Serv:
747
Ingredients
3 fennel bulbs, sliced into chunky wedges
200 g shallots, peeled and halved
2-2.5kg lamb shoulder
4 garlic cloves, sliced thickly
200 ml dry white wine
200 ml lamb stock, made using one stock pot
130 g diced pancetta
570 g jar of white beans
8 sage leave, thinly sliced
50 g crème fraîche
60 g caperberries
Roasted Jersey Royals, to serve
Directions
Step 1Preheat the oven to 220°C (fan 200°C) mark 7. Put the sliced fennel and shallots in the bottom of a large roasting tin and sit the lamb shoulder on top. Make slits over the surface of the lamb and poke a garlic slice into each slit. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the wine and stock into the base of the tin, then cover with a large sheet of foil, sealing the edges. Transfer to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 170°C (fan 150°C) mark 3. Roast for 3hr 45min–4hr.
Step 2Remove the shoulder to a board and cover with foil to rest while you make the beans. Heat a small frying pan over a medium heat and fry the pancetta for 4–5min, or until crispy.
Step 3Drain most of the liquid from the tray, leaving a little of the juices to make a sauce, and place the tray over a low heat on the hob. Add the drained beans, sage and fried pancetta and cook for 2–3min, until warmed through. Stir in the crème fraîche and cook for a further 1–2min. Season to taste and transfer to a serving dish. Scatter with the caperberries. Top with the lamb and serve at the table, or shred the meat first (it should fall off the bone) and spoon over the beans. Serve with roasted Jersey Royals.
GH TIP
For extra flavour, and to add a pop of colour, fry some extra sage leaves in a little oil until crisp and scatter over the finished lamb.
Per serving:
Calories: 747
Protein: 75g
Fat: 40g
Saturates: 18g
Carbs: 12g
Sugars: 4g
Fibre: 8g
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Sarah is Good Housekeeping's Kitchen and Homes Director, looking after all things food and homes for the brand. Sarah started her career in journalism, then retrained as a chef 15 years ago following a lifelong dream to work in food. Since retraining, she has worked as a private chef, assisted on tv commercials, created recipes for some of the country's leading brands and became the go-to birthday and wedding cake baker in her friends and family network. In 2025, she was shortlisted for Cookery Writer of the Year by the Guild of Food Writers
