Spanish pot-roasted lamb with chorizo and white beans
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
To cook in the slow cooker:Use just 500ml cold water for the beans; the basic recipe is the same but transfer the part-cooked bean mixture to a 6.5-litre slow cooker and place the browned lamb on top, gently pressing down. Cook for 6 hours on high. / Reci
Spanish pot-roasted lamb with chorizo and white beans
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
838Kcal
Fat
42gr
Saturates
14gr
Carbs
36gr
Sugars
11gr
Fibre
14gr
Protein
73gr
Salt
2gr
Debbie Major
Cook, writer and food stylist, Debbie's reputation for foolproof, delicious recipes is second to none. She is renowned for her dedication to seasonal home cooking and her love of all things rustic and authentic. Simplicity over cheffy is her motto!
See more of Debbie Major’s recipes
Debbie Major
Cook, writer and food stylist, Debbie's reputation for foolproof, delicious recipes is second to none. She is renowned for her dedication to seasonal home cooking and her love of all things rustic and authentic. Simplicity over cheffy is her motto!
See more of Debbie Major’s recipes
Ingredients
- 300g dried white beans, such as haricot or cannellini, soaked overnight in cold water
- 4-5 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves (4 crushed and 2 cut into slivers)
- ¼ tsp crushed chillies
- 4-6 fresh bay leaves
- 1.5kg boned and rolled shoulder of lamb
- 250g cooking chorizo, skinned and cut into thick slices
- 24 small shallots, peeled
- 2 small sprigs rosemary, broken into small clusters of leaves
- 1½ tsp sweet smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
- 1 tsp caster sugar
Step by step
Get ahead
The whole stew can be put together a few hours ahead, then brought to the boil before cooking in the oven.
- Drain the soaked beans. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large flameproof casserole, in which the joint of lamb will lie flat. Add half of the chopped onion, 2 of the crushed garlic cloves, the crushed chillies and bay leaves and stir well. Cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes until the onions are soft and lightly golden. Add the beans and cold water to just cover (750ml-1 litre), bring to the boil, lower the heat, part-cover and leave to simmer for about 45 minutes or until the beans are partly tender.
- Meanwhile, heat another 2 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick frying pan. Pat the lamb dry, then fry it on all sides for about 6-8 minutes until browned. Set to one side, add the chorizo to the pan and fry briskly until lightly coloured. Set aside with the lamb. Add the peeled shallots and brown for 6-7 minutes; set aside. When the lamb is cool enough to handle, make small, deep incisions all over the joint with a small, sharp knife and poke the garlic slivers and rosemary leaves into each one. Season the joint all over.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C, 170°C fan, gas 5. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the frying pan, if necessary, with the remaining onion and fry until it is nicely golden. Add the remaining 2 crushed garlic cloves, the smoked paprika and the cumin and cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes and thyme leaves and bring to a simmer.
- Stir the tomatoes, chorizo and browned shallots into the beans with the sugar and some black pepper. Rest the lamb on top and cover the casserole with some foil and a close-fitting lid. Transfer to the oven and cook for 1½ hours, removing the lid 15-20 minutes before the end of cooking. This will give you lamb that is slightly pink and nicely juicy. If you prefer your lamb a little more cooked, cook it for the full 1½ hours, uncover and return to the oven for 20 minutes more.
- Lift the lamb onto a carving board, wrap closely with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes. If the beans are still quite liquid, bring them to a simmer on top of the stove and cook for a few minutes until the liquid has reduced. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Remove the bay leaves. Carve the lamb into slices and serve on top of the beans.
