Shoulder of mutton with celery sauce

Serves 4

Shoulder of mutton with celery sauce (Jason Lowe)

Ask your butcher to cut a thick steak through the bone for this, or you could use a leg cut if you wish or even some of the bone cuts through the neck.

4 shoulder of mutton steaks, cut through the bone and weighing about 350-400g
A little vegetable or corn oil for frying
50g flour plus some extra for dusting
60g butter
2 large onions, peeled, halved and finely chopped
2 litres of hot chicken stock
8 sticks of celery, cut into rough ½cm dice
3tbsp chopped parsley mixed with some chopped celery leaves

Season the mutton steaks and lightly flour them. Heat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the steaks for a minute on each side without colouring. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a heavy-based, large saucepan (large enough to fit the mutton steaks) and gently cook the onions for 2-3 minutes without colouring.

Stir in the flour then gradually whisk in the hot chicken stock. Add the mutton steaks, season, cover with a lid and simmer very gently for about 2- 2½ hours until they are tender, or even better, use a pressure cooker and they will cook in half the time.

The sauce should be a thick, coating consistency; if not, remove the mutton and continue simmering the sauce until it thickens. Add the celery and continue simmering for about 10 minutes, then stir in the parsley and re-season if necessary.

To finish, return the mutton to the sauce to reheat for a few minutes and serve immediately.