Hello again!  Lamb remains one of the most popular additions to Irish tables and its easy to see why. There are so many occasions when lamb is appropriate. This week’s recipe is for slow-cooked spiced Shoulder of Lamb served in a tortilla wrap. The longer you cook this shoulder of lamb the better, so don’t worry if it gets an extra hour or so. The meat should be so tender that it is easily shred with a fork. I do hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients
Cooking time: 4 hours
Serves 4
1 small shoulder of lamb
1 tablesp. olive oil
2 teasp. dried ginger
2 teasp. ground cumin
2 teasp. ground coriander
2 teasp. turmeric
Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon
1 small bunch of coriander, leaves picked and stems kept
Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Aioli
1 bulb of garlic
85ml olive oil
1 free-range egg yolk
1 teasp. white wine vinegar
Tomato Salsa
4 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 tablesp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablesp. chopped fresh coriander
1 tablesp. fresh lime juice
1 tablesp. extra-virgin olive oil
 
Method
1 – Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3, 160C (325F). To prepare the lamb, place the olive oil, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, lemon rind and juice, the stalks of the coriander and a good pinch of salt into a blender and blitz to form a smooth paste.
2 – Put the shoulder of lamb onto the two large pieces of foil and make lots of incisions with a knife. Next rub the paste all over.  Add a couple of tablespoons of water then seal the foil leaving a little pocket of air above the lamb.  Place onto a baking sheet and cook for 3 hours.
3 – After 3 hours open the foil and baste the lamb, then reseal the parcel.  Cut the tips off the tops of the garlic cloves, wrap the bulb tightly with foil and place in the oven.  Cook the lamb for another hour until the lamb is meltingly tender and the garlic bulb is soft. Turn off the oven but leave the lamb to rest inside.
4 – Meanwhile, make the salsa. Place the tomatoes in a bowl with the red onion, herbs, lime juice and olive oil. Season to taste and mix thoroughly to combine.  
5 – To make the roasted garlic aioli, gently heat the olive oil. Squeeze out the really soft insides of the garlic cloves into a blender.  Add the egg yolk and some salt and pepper.
6 – With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil to make a smooth thick sauce. Place into a heavy-based pan so you can heat through before serving (this could also be done with a small whisk and a bowl).
7 – Heat the tortillas in the oven by wrapping in a clean damp tea towel.  Shred the lamb using two forks, discarding any excess fat and bones. Give each person a tortilla, dot over the garlic aioli, top with some lamb, a good spoonful of the salsa, then finish with some salad and a couple of slices of the cucumber.  Wrap and eat immediately. Serve with green salad.
Note: If you use a boned shoulder you could reduce the cooking time by approximately an hour. You may have some lamb and aioli left over, they will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.  
fl You can replace the aioli and tomato salsa with ready prepared mayonnaise and a jar of salsa.