Lamb shoulder but not roast dinner?

[VintageDresses]

I have all the family here next weekend for a big birthday. It was originally planned for Sunday so I was going to do roast and trimmings. Now we're all going to another family member on Sunday and they'll do a roast. Everyone is coming here Saturday night.

I've already bought two lamb shoulders which I was going to cook long and slow. What would you do with them for a Saturday night dinner for 12 people?

Dauphinoise potatoes, chantenay carrots and cabbage would be nice.

shredded lamb kind of thing?
served with rolls and relishes?

Couscous with pomegranates, pistachios, apricots and lots of parsley, yogurt and mint, chickpeas with tomatoes and spinach and some sort of aubergine dish, maybe a kale, walnut and feta salad too. I adore middle eastern food and cook it often. A shoulder of lamb would be perfect, stud it with garlic before you roast it.

We had chopped tomatoes and oregano slow roasted lamb today. It fell off the bone. We served with some Mediterranean cous cous.

Shoulder is good for curry or tagine if you fancy a bit of butchery and a slow cook.....

Or cook it before they arrive, carve it and serve it warm with hummus, baba ghanoush, flat brads, tabbouleh, labneh and olives.

Remove bone, stuff with brown breadcrumbs, minced dried apricots, mint, garlic.

Tie up the meat with string into a roll to keep stuffing in place. Slow roast. Comes out beautifully tender.

I haven't got the exact recipe but this is quite close.

I tend to serve with rice and nice green salad (often I do fresh young spinach leaves with a little balsamic vinegar) rather than roast potato and vegetables as it is quite oily.

Ras El hanout, shallot, anchovy, paprika rub slow roast on a bed of fennel, waxy spuds, roasted peppers (from a jar), paprika, salt and pepper covered in foil, bit of water. Add chopped feta in last 15 mins, serve with salsa Verde, mmmmmm!

Mix cinnamon and cumin into olive oil with crushed garlic and rub all over the lamb. Marinade for a day. Serve with roast Mediterranean veg and couscous with mint and toasted pine nuts. Very easy but tastes good.

Or just take it round to MyFriendsCallMeOh 's house for her to cook. Sounds like my dream dinner.

I live in Texas .... might be cold by the time you get it home. I use to live in the Middle East, love those flavours.

Ottelenghi's (spelling?) Persian Lamb. This amazing!

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/lamb-kleftiko

kleftiko lamb leg but shoulder should do just as well

Ooh Klefiko. Do you really think it would be OK with shoulder, wouldn't it be very greasy?

Cawl. A Welsh soup recipe -Google it.

Serve with cheese and crusty bread.

Sprinkle lamb with paprika, cut 2 lemons in half and squeeze over (leave lemons in cooker) cut some holes in top of lamb and stuff garlic slices, fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs and add a handful of olives to the cooker for Greek-style.

Then serve with wraps, cheese, lettuce, tomato, fresh onion slices and tzatziki (sp?), to make kebabs/souvlaki.

Or more traditionally, serve with garlic mash.

www.nigella.com/recipes/view/warm-shredded-lamb-salad-with-mint-and-pomegranate-178

Bone and then chop up. Marinade in oil, crushed garlic, Salt and pepper and make kebab skewers with peppers. Serve with chopped salad (with fresh parsley or coriander in), mint yoghurt (just mint sauce and natural mixed together) and pittas and/or rice.

This is one of the freshest, tastiest teas ever, I promise. Fattier cuts of meat lend themselves really well to kebabs.