Lamb baked in milk with potatoes (Jagnjetina u mlijeku)

1. Cut the lamb shoulder into 6 large pieces, rub well with salt and pepper and leave to stand for 30 minutes.

2. Pack the pieces of meat tightly together in a deep roasting tin or earthenware dish, tuck the peeled, halved garlic cloves and the rosemary between them and dot the top with butter.

3. Pour over the milk (it should come halfway up the meat), cover and cook in an oven preheated to 170 °C for 1½ hours – meanwhile the milk slowly thickens and the meat becomes soft and tender.

4. Meanwhile peel the potatoes, cut them into large wedges and salt them.

5. Remove the lid, arrange the potatoes around the meat and roast uncovered at 200 °C for another 40-45 minutes until the top of the meat and the potatoes are golden and the milk has cooked down to creamy, browned juices.

6. Serve the meat with the potatoes and the milky juices, with a fresh salad on the side.

Tip: This is a festive dish from the mountain cooking of Herzegovina and Montenegro, where it is traditionally cooked in the embers under a sač (iron bell). The milk curdles a little during the slow cooking – that's natural and gives the juices their character.