Slow Provençal Lamb

Ingredients:
1 lamb shoulder, about 4-1/2 pounds/2 kg, cut into large chunks
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 onions, peeled and sliced
6 plum tomatoes
About 1-1/2 cups/375 ml red or white wine
1 cup/250 ml veal stock
1 head garlic, broken into peeled cloves
3 bay leaves
2 rosemary branches
1 bouquet fresh thyme
1 pound/450 g red peppers, seeded and cut into strips
1 pound/450 g eggplant, cut into chunks
1 pound/450 zucchini, cut into chunks

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 300°F or 150°C. 
2. Season the lamb generously with salt and pepper. Heat a spoonful or two of the oil in a cocotte and brown the meat well on both sides, about 15 minutes per side. Remove the meat. 
3. Add another spoonful of oil and cook the onions until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. 
4. While the onions are browning, peel, quarter, and seed the tomatoes over a sieve set over a bowl to catch the juices. Reserve the tomatoes for later. 
5. Pour the juice into a 2 cup/500 ml measuring cup and add enough wine to fill. Deglaze the onions with the veal stock, stirring up the good bits from the bottom. 
6. Add the wine and tomato juice mixture. Add the garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme. Wet a piece of parchment paper and lay it over the meat, set on a lid, and bake 1-/2 hours. 
7. While the lamb cooks, salt the eggplant and set in a colander to drain, about 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. 
8. Roast the red peppers. 
9. Once the lamb has cooked 1-1/2 hours, add the eggplant, tomatoes and peppers, cover and cook for another hour. 
10. Increase the heat to 400°F/200°C. 
11. Remove the lid and the parchment, add the zucchini, and cook a further 45 minutes uncovered. 
12. Serve straight from the pot. 
13. Remove from the oven. Remove the herbs. 
14. Spoon the lamb onto plates, with the sauce spooned over. 

Show: French Food at Home2
Chef: Laura Calder
Category: Main Course

Ease of Cooking: Moderate
Yields: 6 Servings