Pulled Lamb Neck Fillet

This recipe produces a rich sauce with some very tender, intensely-flavoured, shredded lamb. It takes a while to cook, but doesn't demand much effort. 

The crucial aspect of the sauce is the sweet and sour balance that comes mostly from the combination of Marsala and vinegar. My ideal combination of vinegars in this dish is balsamic (unless you're rich, a cheap version will do in this case), sherry vinegar and a soft style of white wine vinegar, such as one made from Riesling wine. But I'm being annoyingly fussy, so just use what you have that's interesting but not excessively acidic. As for the Marsala, I use a dry style but they can vary quite a bit in just how dry they turn out to be. So, in short, be prepared to taste and adjust the flavours to your liking if they don't seem perfectly balanced.

Although this doesn't produce a large amount of sauce, it's intense enough to serve 2 or even 3 people. Of course, you don't have to serve it with pasta, that's just the way I like it. It could be used to top and supercharge lamb burgers, for instance.

1 lamb neck fillet (around 250g - 300g)

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

50 ml balsamic vinegar 

30 ml sherry vinegar

30 ml lower acidity white wine vinegar

150 ml Marsala, a dry style

2 sprigs rosemary, leaves only

4 sprigs thyme, leaves only

1 tbsp tomato purée

1 tsp anchovy paste (or two anchovy fillets in oil, drained)

1200 ml chicken or light lamb stock

Some leaves of parsley and mint, finely chopped, to serve

Tidy up the lamb neck fillet by removing any stray sinew or large chunks of fat on the outside. Add a little oil to a small sauté pan or saucepan and brown the lamb on all sides. Set the lamb aside.

Add the onion to the pan, with a little more oil if needed, and fry until the onion starts to soften. Add the crushed garlic and continue frying for a minute or so longer. Deglaze the pan with the vinegars, bring to the boil and let the vinegars reduce by around a half. Add the Marsala and, again, let it reduce by around a half. Add the thyme, rosemary, anchovy paste (or anchovy fillets) and the tomato purée. Season with pepper, but don't add salt at this point since the anchovy paste will be adding a fair bit of that.

Pour in the stock and bring the mixture up to simmering point. Return the lamb to the pan, cover lightly so that a little steam can escape and let it simmer away gently for 2½ - 3 hours. The pan shouldn't need too much attention during this period, but, every now and then, turn the lamb over to ensure that it cooks evenly and skim off any scruffy stuff that appears on top of the liquid. If the pan looks to be in danger of drying out, then add a little water.

At the end of its cooking time, the lamb should be very tender and, ideally, the sauce should be significantly reduced but not solid or syrupy. Remove the lamb and shred the meat with a couple of forks. Wizz up the sauce with a hand blender until smooth and, if necessary, reduce it until it thickens or until it's as thick as you'd like it. Check the seasoning and the acidity of the sauce. You may find that a few additional drops of vinegar will be called for.

Stir the shredded lamb into the sauce and serve in your chosen manner, sprinkling with the chopped leaves of mint and parsley.