Slowly baked lamb with carrots, potatoes and artichokes in red wine sauce

Hi there!:-) Back from our holidays in Greece where we had a great time and now we need some days (or a couple of weeks I should say) to adjust and get back to normal... Not easy though! Besides everything else, the classic "what am I to cook today?" big question is back... What easier than a Sunday roast, I'm thinking... and here it is! An easy and delicious meal based on various traditional recipes with baked lamb along with seasonal artichokes to feed the family without too much hassle in the kitchen

Cooked by Elias Demirtzoglou,

"Cook Book" magazine of "ETHNOS" newspaper

Ingredients (for 4-6 people):

1250-1400 gr. of lamb (shoulder or front leg)

2 large carrots, cut into thick slices

4 large ripe tomatoes, grated

4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

2 yellow onions, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1/4 cup of olive oil

1-2 tbsp of butter

1/2 a bottle of red dry wine

1 tsp of sugar

1 cup of chicken broth

8 fresh (or frozen) artichoke hearts (if large cut in half)

1 tsp of ground cumin

1/2 tsp of ground allspice

salt

pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Put the oil and the butter in a spacious frying pan on medium-high heat and sauté the meat for about 8-9 minutes, turning often until is nicely coloured on all sides. Transfer the meat on a plate.

In the same pan, add the onions and the garlic and sauté for 4 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. Season with the cumin and the allspice and stir.

Transfer the onions along with the juices from the pan into a spacious clay pot (with a lid). Place the meat on top and arrange the potatoes, the artichokes and the carrots around it.

Pour over with the wine and the chicken broth.

Add the tomato over the meat and the vegetables. Sprinkle with the parsley and the sugar. Generously season with salt and pepper.

Cover the meat with a piece of grease-proof paper and then place the lid on top.

Put the pot in the middle shelf of the oven and bake for about 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is really tender, falling off the bone. The last 10 minutes of the cooking, uncover the pot to allow the food to get a nice brown colour.

Take out of the oven, allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes and then serve.