Slow roasted lamb with olives and rosemary

Très cozy

This is my favorite time of year. I love the holidays, yes, but I also love cozy foods, and starting in November it seems like my Dutch oven and crock pot begin to take up permanent residence on my stove and countertop, ready to slowly cook whatever strikes my fancy. And this week, that was lamb. A big hunk of it, seared and braised with olives and rosemary in a tomato-y broth until it was falling apart and easily shredable with a couple forks.

It was the perfect cold-weather food — the kind that warms your belly and soul and makes the whole damn house smell delicious. I’m so excited for you to make it.

Tell me more

Lamb chops are cute and nice but to be honest, when I want lamb I’m usually imagining something a bit less fussy and more homey. Today’s recipe is definitely that. It’s home cooking at its finest — short on ingredients and prep but not on flavor. It’s the kind of dish I like to make when I have some time to be around the kitchen but don’t necessarily want to be standing in it all day. You can kind of set it and forget it (though you will need to baste it a couple times), and at the end of the day you’re rewarded with a hot, comforting meal that will make even the most mundane of days a little more special.

Before we start

• I like to use a boneless leg of lamb here, but you can use a lamb shoulder instead. In general, I find the leg to be a bit leaner, which I like in my lamb, but some people prefer the richness that comes from the fattier shoulder. Chef’s choice!

• I’m using my beloved castelvetrano olives here, which have a mild, buttery flavor compared to other popular varieties. I highly recommend you use them if you can find them, but I also believe there’s no such thing as a bad olive. If castelvetranos aren’t available near you or you just so happen to have a jar of green Spanish queen olives or can of black olives around, use those instead.

• A Dutch oven is key here. While I love my Great Jones Dutchess and Dutch Baby (the latter of which I actually used to cook this) and am coveting a Le Creuset and/or Staub, you don’t need to spend a ton of money on a Dutch oven if that’s not a priority for you. I have a couple from Home Goods, each of which cost under $40, and they work just fine.

• I love to serve this with mashed potatoes, but you could also do baked or roasted potatoes, noodles, rice, or just bread and butter. A side salad and good bottle of red would be perfect, too.

• Speaking of noodles, any leftovers you have are begging to be turned into pasta. Just warm the meat and juices, toss with your favorite pasta, a healthy heaping of freshly grated parm, and enough pasta water to create a luscious sauce that coats the noodles. Voilà, dinner is served and it doesn’t taste like leftovers at all.

The recipe

Serves: 4-6

Cook time: 30 minutes prep, 7 hours cooking