Tapa of lamb shoulder, ajo blanco, cockles and sea herbs

Slow-cooked Welsh lamb shoulder elevated to a gourmet Spanish-inspired dish that’s restaurant-worthy

Preparation time
overnight

Cooking time
over 2 hours

Serves
Serves 4

By Owen Morgan
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the ajo blanco

200g/7oz day-old white bread, crusts removed
100g/3½oz blanched almonds
2 garlic cloves
100ml/3½fl oz extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the marinade

8 salted anchovies
handful fresh rosemary leaves
handful fresh thyme leaves
handful fresh mint, including stalks
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lemon, zest only
75ml/2½fl oz extra virgin olive oil
75ml/2½fl oz albarino white wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the lamb shoulder

2–2.5kg/4lb 8oz–5fl 8oz Welsh lamb shoulder, on the bone
4 carrots, roughly chopped
4 white onions, roughly chopped
3 celery sticks, roughly chopped
3 leeks, roughly chopped
1 garlic bulb, cut in half horizontally
4 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 sprigs fresh thyme
300ml/10fl oz albarino white wine
400ml/14fl oz hot chicken stock
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the cockles

1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, sliced
½ shallot, sliced
2 handfuls of live cockles, in the shell
splash of albarino white wine
sea purslane and samphire, to garnish

Method

To make the ajo blanco, soak the bread in water for 30 minutes.
Add the almonds, garlic, soaked bread and 525ml/18½fl oz of water to a food processor and blend. Slowly add the olive oil through the top whilst blending, then add the sherry vinegar and continue to blend. You want to achieve a good pouring consistency. If the mixture is too thick, add some more water (you may need up to 175ml/6fl oz) to loosen, and continue to blend. For smoothest results, pass through a sieve. Chill thoroughly until needed.
To make the marinade, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend into a purée.
To prepare the lamb shoulder, puncture the lamb all over with a fine, sharp knife and score the top fatty side. Rub the marinade all over the meat, then wrap in cling film and chill overnight.
The next morning, preheat the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3.
Put the carrots, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, white wine and stock into a roasting tin, season and stir in olive oil. Unwrap the lamb, sit it on top of the veg and cover the whole tray with kitchen foil. Place in the oven for 4½ hours, removing the foil for the last 30 minutes.
The lamb should be meltingly tender and falling off the bone. ‘Pull’ the lamb when cooled a little by using two forks to remove the meat from the bone, then season with salt and pepper and add some of the roasting juices. Form into a ballotine/sausage shape in the middle of a large piece of cling film, then wrap tightly and chill.
Place the vegetables and cooking liquor into a saucepan on the hob and bring to the boil. Simmer and reduce by a third, then strain and reduce again to desired consistency. Reserve for dressing the dish at the end.
While the liquor is reducing, prepare the cockles. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a high heat, then sweat the garlic and shallot for one minute. Add the cockles and some wine, cover and cook for 2 minutes until the cockles are open. Remove the cockles, then add the sea herbs and reduce the wine.
To serve, cut the lamb into slices and pan fry in olive oil for 1–2 minutes on each side. Serve the ajo blanco on the base of the plate or bowl, with a seared ballotine of lamb on top, some of the wine and stock sauce to knap, then dress with the cockles and sea herbs. To be served as a tapa, individually plated.