Recipe: Slow Cooked Lamb with Roasted Tomato Fennel Olive Tapenade

Lamb shoulder rubbed with a green olive, fennel and ginger tapenade, then slow-cooked in a port and homemade stock reduction.

Ingredients

• 3 cups of Port wine
• 1 Lamb Shoulder or Thigh
• Trim fat and use for stock

Homemade stock (make one day ahead)

• 2 carrots & celery
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1/2 cup each- leek and fennel
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 6 juniper berries & whole cloves
• 4 bay leaves
• All fat from lamb trimmings
• 4 cups water

Roasted tomato fennel olive tapenade for lamb rub

• 2-cups green olives/ pitted
• 10-garlic cloves
• 4 tablespoons chopped ginger
• 2 Tbsp lemon peel or zest
• 1/2 cup each fennel & leek
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• zip blend (Spice Hunter)
• lemon pepper (Spice Hunter)

Method

1. Rub the lamb with 1/2 the tapenade and refrigerate for 12-24 hours. Use the second half of the tapenade for the last 30 minutes of cooking for more flavor.
2. Bring all homemade stock ingredients to boil and simmer for 2-3 hours.
3. In another pot begin reducing 3 cups of port wine and then slowly add the strained stock into the port reduction. The other half of the port reduction can be used to drizzle over the lamb.
4. Then in a hotel pan add stock reduction and lamb to slow cook at 275 for 3 hours & 250 degrees for another 2-3 hours.
5. As the lamb is slow cooking, baste every 45 minutes and flip lamb 2-3 times.
6. In the last 30 minutes use the second 1/2 of the rub.

Wine pairing

Pairs with Sunstone 2018 Life & Sun (a past release; see our current red wines).

Recipe by Sunstone’s winemaker and chef