Rolled forequarter of lamb braised in a rich mushroom sauce

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160ºC.
2. Melt 75 g butter in a heavy-based saucepan. Add 3 garlic cloves, mushrooms, water and a pinch of salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cook over a low–medium heat for 5–10 minutes, or until the mushrooms release their liquid. Use a slotted spoon to lift out around a quarter of the mushrooms for the stuffing. Reserve the remaining mushrooms in their liquid for the braise.
3. To make the stuffing, slice the mushrooms thinly and mix them with 6 garlic cloves and herbs.
4. Lay the lamb forequarter, skin-side down, on your work surface. Season with salt and pepper then spread on the mushroom stuffing. Roll the forequarter up to form a fat log and tie securely with butcher’s string at 5 cm intervals.
5. Heat the oil in a heavy-based casserole dish and brown the lamb all over. Remove it from the dish and transfer to a large plate. Add 150 g butter to the dish and melt over a medium heat. Add the onions and sauté gently for 5 minutes until soft, but not coloured. Add the remainder of the garlic cloves, carrot and celery and sauté for a further 5 minutes. Add the reserved mushrooms and their liquid, together with the wine, Madeira, stock and thyme, and bring to the boil. Return the lamb to the dish and cover with a lid or aluminium foil. Bake in the oven for 2–2½ hours.
6. At the end of the cooking time, remove the dish from the oven. Lift out the lamb and transfer it to a large plate. Place the casserole over a high heat and bring to the boil. Cook until reduced by half, to form a lovely thick sauce. You can prepare the dish to this stage up to 3 days ahead of time. Return the lamb to the casserole and leave to cool. When completely cold, cover and refrigerate.
7. When ready to eat, reheat the casserole in a medium oven for 20 minutes. Lift the lamb out of the casserole and remove the string. Cut into thick slices and serve with plenty of sauce and a generous sprinkling of chopped parsley.