The main part of this evening’s meal is so satisfyingly simple. Even a person who professes they can’t cook – the sort of person who panics at the thought of plugging in a sandwich press – can manage this buttery soft, Ultimate Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder. 

Now this fresh, ready-to-pop-into-the-oven lamb is part of the Created With Jamie Oliver range of supermarket products designed to encourage healthy home cooking and eating. The eye-catching boxed packaging as pictured below, features pictures of a succulent looking finished roast. It also includes easy to follow cooking instructions on the back – wrap lamb in foil and roast at 170 degrees for 2.5 hours, then unwrap and continue for another 30 minutes. I cooked two of these pieces for my large family but one would be ample for a family of four. I thought I’d give it a go and blog about the response from my family. They really are the most honest of food critics. 


I stumbled across this already marinated, boned, rolled and neatly presented piece of Australian lamb shoulder on the Woolworth’s home shop site. We buy our dry goods and dairy online either from Coles or Woolworth’s and have it delivered to our door. It saves time as we no longer need to cart copious products from the supermarket shelves to the trolley, to the checkout then to the car and finally into the house. With a family who consumes 20 litres of milk alone every week, the on-line home shop option really lightens the load for us. 

I do venture into the supermarket in between the major weekly delivery because despite the grocery list there are always items that are invariably accidentally left off. I’m a stickler for excellent service, a clean store, freshness and variety and so in-between I visit the IGA Supermarket in Drummoyne. They also stock some of my favourite brands that larger chains do not, including Maggie Beer’s chicken stock and cooking condiments. In fact I incorporated this shelf stable stock in my Saffron Pilaf this evening. You can find the recipe in my post dated the 3rd July. This time I left out the cranberries and cardamom pods. 

The two glossy purple eggplants in my veggie fridge were diced and left to steep in salt for an hour to remove any bitterness. I then rinsed off the pieces under running water, patted dry with a clean tea towel and fried in batches, in olive oil. These provided another side dish to the lamb along with a salad of baby English spinach, grated beetroot, feta and olives all drizzled with Maggie Beer’s vino cotto. 

Now if the thought of making a pilaf and eggplant and a salad is just too much for you, there is another option. Just serve the lamb sliced thinly and stuffed inside warmed rounds of pita bread that have been smothered with a good quality store bought brand of hummus and loads of mixed salad leaves and sweet tomatoes. 

The consensus from my family of eight was positive. The lamb has appealing lemony-herb flavours with just enough pepper to add a bit of bite, without overwhelming the entire roast. My four year old son Luka was already asking if he could have some of the leftovers for lunch at pre-school tomorrow before even finishing dinner.