1. Preheat oven to 160°C (fan)
2. Place onion on bottom of roasting pan then layer garlic, rosemary and thyme on top
3. Season lamb by placing lamb shoulder on top of onion and herbs, drizzle lamb with olive oil or smear on fat, then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and rub it all in
4. Mix the vegetable stock into the chicken broth
5. Pour chicken broth around the lamb the pop the halved lemon in the broth sitting cut side upwards 
6. Place uncovered in the oven and roast for 4 hours. Check each hour and spoon the juices over the lamb with chicken broth to add flavour and moisture If you find you are running low on liquid in the pan add some water or more chicken broth. You don't need a lot as the gravy self thickens with the onions and garlic and you just need a big dollop each
7. After 3.5 hours remove from the oven, spoon juices over again and check if the meat easily pulls apart and off the bone. If not, return to the oven for another half hour. Check again.
8. When you are happy with the lamb, remove from the oven, spoon over pan juices generously. Transfer to a serving / carving platter, and cover loosely with foil while you make the gravy.

GRAVY:

1. Using a large spoon, skim off most of the fat from the surface of the liquid. Either discard or keep for next time.
2. Squeeze the garlic out of the cloves and press the garlic into the bottom of the pan to dissolve them - this helps thicken the gravy. Remove stalks from rosemary and thyme and add herbs back into pan. Squeeze the lemon juices out of the lemon half being careful not to burn yourself or drop pips into the gravy.
3.  Place the pan on the stove top on medium high and stir to combine and reheat the gravy. Check seasoning. Viola, that's it.

SERVING:

• The meat is tender so you will only a knife to gently carve and a pair of tongs to tear the meat off. Serve with gravy, some mashed sweet potatoes or pumpkin and steamed greens, or a green salad. 

NOTES 

• Cooking with the bone in always adds more flavour to the meat and gravy. If you're using a boneless lamb shoulder, cook it for about 30 minutes less.
• You can always ask the butcher to cut you a lamb shoulder to feed the amount of people you are serving. 
• If dinner unexpectantly runs late the lamb is very forgiving. Turn it down in the oven or leave it resting for up to an hour.

I hope your family enjoy this recipe as much as ours does.

Meaghan xx