Are you up to the challenge of cooking a dish for 4 hours or would you rather go for a run?

Give slow cooking a chance with this recipe from Take One Pot (Kyle Books, October 2013) by Georgina Fuggle...

Four-Hour Lamb Shoulder

Tender lamb falling apart with a gentle nudge from the back of a spoon must be any carnivore’s fantasy (certainly mine). Serve with something fresh to lighten the plate—crème fraîche and some well-seasoned greens for example. Just a thought… you can also run a marathon in four hours. Both activites might require

an afternoon nap and a glass of red wine afterward!

Prep time: 20 minutes, Serves 6, Cook Time: 4 HOURS

I shoulder of lamb (approx. 41/2 pounds), bone in, trimmed of excess fat

3 or 4 rosemary sprigs

2 heads of garlic, cloves peeled and papery skin removed

2 red onions, each cut into 6 crescents

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-inch rounds

2 turnips, peeled and cut into chunks

2 (141/2-ounce) cans diced tomatoes

2 fresh bay leaves

2 cups red wine

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2 Prepare your lamb by making 10 to 15 incisions all over the top of the meat. Poke peeled garlic cloves and sprigs of rosemary into the holes, then season well all over.

3 Place the onions, carrots, and turnips in the bottom of the roasting pan and nestle the lamb on top. Add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, and red wine to the pan. Season again.

4 Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and then foil, and place in the oven. Cook for 2 hours.

5 Reduce the heat to 300°F. Remove the foil and paper from the lamb, baste the meat, and return to the oven to cook for another 2 hours (check after 11/2 hours in case you have a ferocious oven). The lamb will be ready when the meat is falling away from the bone. Skim off the fat and serve directly from the roasting pan.

Tender lamb falling apart with a gentle nudge from the back of a spoon must be any carnivore’s fantasy (certainly mine). Serve with something fresh to lighten the plate—crème fraîche and some well-seasoned greens for example.

Just a thought… you can also run a marathon in four hours. Both activites might require an afternoon nap and a glass of red wine afterward!

(* Recipe reproduced with permission from 'Take One Pot' by Georgina Fuggle- Kyle Books, October 2013- all rights reserved- Photo by Tara Fisher)