The humble Sunday roast is getting a gourmet upgrade, with one of Australia's most acclaimed chefs sharing the secrets to cooking tender roast lamb with all the trimmings at home. Woodcut chef-owner Ross Lusted appeared on The Morning Show to reveal his professional tips for the perfect slow-cooked lamb shoulder, alongside indulgent potato gratin and roasted cauliflower, as his award-winning Crown Sydney restaurant relaunches its popular Sunday roast lunch.
Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder
The centrepiece of the roast is a 1.2kg lamb shoulder, brined overnight in buttermilk with roasted spices. For the brine, dry roast peppercorns and fennel seeds until fragrant, then combine with buttermilk, warm water, salt, garlic, and lemon zest. After brining, pat the lamb dry and optionally leave it uncovered in the fridge for a day to dry the skin. Preheat the oven to 150C, rub the lamb with olive oil, and season with sea salt and dried oregano. Place the lamb in a pre-soaked clay pot or cast-iron dish with pickling onions, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Cover and cook for 2 hours, then remove the lid, reduce the oven to 110C, and cook uncovered for another hour until the meat falls off the bone. Rest for 20 minutes before serving, then dust with a crisp crumb of fried garlic, panko, fennel pollen, and dried oregano.
Potato and Mushroom Gratin
This gratin serves 4 and uses Dutch cream potatoes and Swiss brown mushrooms. Layer thinly sliced potatoes and mushrooms in a buttered, lined dish, alternating with cream, melted butter, and seasoning. Bake at 160C until just set to avoid splitting the cream. Before serving, reheat at 200C until golden brown. Serve with lemon zest, fried sage leaves, and a black garlic butter sauce made by emulsifying garlic butter into hot vegetable stock.
Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Pine Nuts and Raisins
For the cauliflower, bake a whole head covered in vegetable stock with thyme, bay, butter, and olive oil at 200C for 20 minutes. Transfer to a skillet, drizzle with cooking stock and melted butter, and roast for 10–15 minutes until golden and tender. For the puree, bake cauliflower pieces with thyme at 180C for 40 minutes, then simmer in infused milk with shallots and garlic, and blend with cold butter. Fry tea-soaked green raisins in butter until browned, add verjuice and pine needle syrup, then toss with roasted pine nuts. Serve the cauliflower with the puree and the raisin-pine nut mixture.
