a glorious lamb shoulder (with a rather striking broad bean hummus, to boot)

Yet again I must bow down before Nigel Slater’s greatness. Though I may have one day stumbled upon his ideas myself, I’m grateful to him for ready-preparing them for me. So that one day, when I’m 83, I don’t all of the sudden think, “Oh, broad bean hummus! If only I’d thought of it before!”

Of course, even Nigel Slater’s recipes can take a bit of tweaking here and modifying there. In the June chapter of his Kitchen Diaries, he relays a wonderful-sounding broad bean and dill hummus, which he recommends serving as a dip. Next up, for the main course, a roast lamb shoulder with cumin and mint, which sits on a bed of rocket.

But I thought – why not combine these two into the same course? Roast the shoulder, make the broad bean hummus (with about half of the oil), and serve with a dollop of harissa, some warm pitta bread, and grilled spring onions. It’s like a deconstructed stop at the kebab shop. And it was marvellous.

For the lamb:
I used a half shoulder, and, following Nigel’s instructions, cut deep slices into it with a knife. A marinade of garlic, cumin seeds, fresh mint, a tbsp of olive oil (you don’t need as much as NS suggests) and lemon juice should sit on the shoulder for about an hour before roasting. To get it medium-rare, only about an hour at 190 C is needed. Let sit for about 10 minutes, then carve.

For the broad bean hummus:
Use fresh if you can, but frozen work too. If they’re fresh, shell and then boil. If they’re frozen, boil and then shell. It’s tedious at times, but worth it. Blend with olive oil, loads of fresh dill and lemon juice.

For the grilled spring onions:
Spray with a couple sprays of olive oil and put under a preheated grill for about 6-7 minutes, turning halfway through.

Serve all of these with warm pitta bread, a dollop of harissa and a glass of rose. You’ll love it, whether you eat with your hands (me) or with a fork and knife (him).

Calories: minus the wine, one serving is about 800 calories. So it don’t come cheap, necessarily. But it’s by no means over the top. And, as I said, it’s rather glorious, so it’s worth it.