Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Caramelized Baby Onions and Honey
- 1 shoulder of lamb (about 3 to 4 1/2 pounds)
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 pounds (about 4 cups) baby onions or shallots
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 to 4 tablespoons clear honey
- Put the lamb skin side up in a baking dish or roasting pan.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in an oven preheated to 475F for 15 minutes.
- Then lower the heat to 350F and cook for 3 hours, until the skin is crisp and brown and the meat is juicy and meltingly tender.
- Pour off the fat after about 2 hours.
- Blanch the baby onions or shallots in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain, and when they are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and trim the roots.
- Heat the olive oil in a wide pan, and put in the onions.
- Half-cover with about 1 cup water and add a little salt and pepper.
- Braise for about 35 minutes, covering the pan at first, then removing the lid to reduce the liquid.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has disappeared and the onions are soft and brown in the sizzling oil.
- They will be ready when the point of a sharp knife goes in easily.
- Add the honey and cook, stirring often, for 15 minutes, until the onions are caramelized and soft enough to, as they say in Morocco, crush with the tongue.
- Serve very hot.
- Accompany the lamb with the onions, and pass around salt and pepper for the meat, which is needed to mitigate the sweetness of the onions.
lamb, salt, onions, extra virgin olive oil, clear honey
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roast-shoulder-of-lamb-with-caramelized-baby-onions-and-honey-373005 (may not work)