Slow-roasted lamb shoulder pie

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“This lamb pie is rather spectacular and a lovely surprise – no one will expect it on an Easter table.”- Abigail Donnelly

Ingredients

1 onion, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into chunks
6 garlic cloves, peeled
6 rosemary sprigs
olive oil, for drizzling
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1.5 kg lamb shoulder on the bone
1 cup white wine
For the pithivier:
2 x 250 g boxes Woolworths frozen all-butter puff pastry
200 g baby spinach
1 Woolworths black garlic head, peeled and smashed
100 g ricotta
1 free-range egg, beaten

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 230°C and place the rack in the centre of the oven. Arrange the onion, carrot and garlic in a roasting pan the same size as the lamb shoulder. Top with some of the rosemary, drizzle with olive oil and season.

2. Place the lamb shoulder on top, fat side up. Drizzle all over with olive oil, season and scatter with the remaining rosemary. Pour the wine into the pan, cover with foil and place in the oven. Reduce the temperature to 170°C, then roast for 3 ½ hours , or until the meat is tender enough to pull apart with a fork. Shred the lamb using 2 forks and allow to cool.

3. To assemble the pithivier, place the frozen pastry in the fridge for 1 hour before ready to use. Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

4. Blanch the spinach and refresh in iced water. Squeeze out as much water as possible and set aside. Squeeze the black garlic out of the casings, then smooth into a rough paste using the blade of a knife. Set aside.

5. Place a sheet of pastry on a floured surface and cut out 2 circles roughly 20 cm in diameter. You can cheat by using the rim of a large bowl as your guide. Carefully place one of the rounds of pastry onto the baking tray, then top with the black garlic, spinach, ricotta and shredded lamb, leaving a 1 cm border around the edge of the pastry. Brush the rim of the pastry with a little beaten egg.

6. Top the filling with the second round of pastry, then crimp the edges of the pastry using a fork to seal. Using a small, sharp knife, gently score curved lines from the centre of the pithivier to the edge of the pastry, being careful not to cut all the way through the pastry.

7. Lightly brush the surface of the pastry with the remaining egg. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Serve immediately.

Cook's note: You could use Woolies’ Easy to Cook slow- cooked lamb shanks (ready in 50 minutes) for the filling. Reserve the gravy to serve with the cooked pie.

Find more Easter recipes here.

Photograph: Jan Ras
Production: Abigail Donnelly
Food assistants: Cheri Kustner and Emma Nkunzana