Easter recipe: Adam Smith’s salt baked lamb shoulder

Salt baked lamb shoulder with English feta, cucumber and mint salad

(Image credit: Dorchester Collection)

published 30 March 2023

This is a twisted version of the traditional Easter lamb, created by Adam Smith, executive chef of Michelin-starred Woven by Adam Smith at Coworth Park in Berkshire. Served with a feta, cucumber, and mint salad, it’s a tasty and fresh recipe that brings spring flavours at Easter.

Ingredients: serves four

1 small lamb shoulder on the bone (around 1-1.2kg)
900g strong flour
30g rosemary
30g thyme
300g salt
9 egg whites
220g water
2 large cucumbers
1 bunch mint
250g English feta cheese
20 black olives
200g roasted almonds
100g toasted pine nuts
2 lemons
500g Greek yoghurt
Good olive oil
Smoked paprika

Method

Pick all the leaves from the thyme and rosemary, place into a food processor with the salt and blitz until fine, and then add the flour and blitz for a further minute. Add the egg whites and slowly the water until a smooth paste forms.
Remove from the food processor and kneed on the table, then rest in the fridge for 30min.
After resting, roll the pastry until around 1cm thick, place the lamb shoulder onto of the pastry and wrap around ensuring there are NO holes or gaps in the pastry.
Place on a baking tray and into the oven at 220oc for 20 min, then turn the oven down to 140oc and cook for 4 hours. Rest for 40min before serving.
Slice the cucumber length ways about 3mm thick using a mandolin.
Dice the cheese and chop the black olives.
In a large bowl add the cucumber, diced feta cheese, almonds, pine nuts and black olives.
Season with lemon juice and dress with olive oil. Tear the mint and mix in the salad.
Serve the salad in a large bowl.
Season the Greek yoghurt with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and zest and juice of a lemon.
To serve, place the salad and yoghurt in the middle of the table, cut a lid in the top of the salt pastry and fork the meat from the bone.

Woven by Adam Smith, Cowarth Park, Blacknest Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7SE; dorchestercollection.com