Braised Lamb Shoulder, Corn & Bell Pepper

Preheat the oven to 160 °C

Place 1 lamb shoulder in a baking tray and coat it completely with ½ cup of olive oil

Season all sides with salt and espelette pepper powder to taste

Tear 3 rosemary sprigs and 1 bunch of thyme. Place them on top and around the lamb

Pour 1½ cups of white wine and 2 cups of water around the lamb

Add 3 smashed, unpeeled garlic cloves

Cover the lamb with parchment paper

Cover the baking tray with aluminum foil, making a full seal. Cook the lamb shoulder for 3h30m, until the meat is tender

Trim and remove the core and the ribs of 8 medium red bell peppers

Chop the red bell peppers into medium pieces

Transfer the chopped red bell pepper to a medium pan. Add 1 cup of white wine vinegar and 1¼ cups of water

Add 1 cup of white sugar

Add 2 tsp of espelette pepper powder and salt to taste. Stir to incorporate

Get a rectangle of parchment paper about twice the size of your saucepan. Fold it in half twice

Fold it radially down the length, with the closed end as the tip, making it into a narrow triangle

Cut the tip of the triangle off. Cut the triangle to the radius of the pot. Unfold it and you've just made a cartouche, which will help keep the bell pepper under the liquid

Cover the pot with your cartouche and cook the mixture over medium heat until the liquid is mostly evaporated and resembles a thick syrup

Peel and remove the silk from 4 cobs of corn

Cut off the stem and hold it with the flat surface facing down on the cutting board. Run the knife along the cobs to remove the kernels

Melt 3 tbsp of butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat

Add the corn and sweat it until tender, stirring occasionally

Season with salt and espelette pepper powder to taste. Stir to incorporate

Add 1 2/3 cups of white wine and cook until you can no longer smell the alcohol

Add enough water to completely cover the corn. Cook over low heat for 20m or until the liquid is reduced by half. Remove from the heat

Transfer the cooked bell pepper mixture to a blender and blend on high speed until smooth

Add ½ cup of olive oil and blend on medium speed until smooth. The bell pepper ketchup is ready

Remove the lamb from the oven and let it rest for 15m to set the juices. Carefully take off the aluminum foil and the parchment paper

Transfer the cooked corn to a blender

Add 2 tbsp of butter and blend on medium speed until creamy. If necessary, add some cold water to balance the fat. The fresh corn polenta is ready

Transfer the lamb shoulder to a cutting board

Gently pull the bones away from the meat

Cut the meat into 6 portions. The braised lamb shoulder is ready

Put 3 tbsp of fresh polenta on a serving dish

Add 1 piece of lamb in the middle and top it with ½ tbsp of the bell pepper ketchup

Garnish with some edible flowers to taste. The braised lamb shoulder, corn & bell pepper is ready

Enjoy! This dish is perfect for sharing and impressing your friends when they come over!