boiled leg of mutton with caper sauce 

Leg of Mutton Joint
4 Carrots
6 Medium Onions (1 studded with cloves)
4 Sticks of Celery
Bouquet Garni
2 Cloves Garlic

Place mutton in a large pan of boiling, salted water. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes a pound. Serve the onions with the meat, first removing the cloves. Now make the caper sauce, basic béchamel (white sauce) to which you add the cooked celery (pureed) and a good tablespoon of capers together with a tbs., of vinegar from the caper jar and serve piping hot in a sauce boat.

Toss the meat in seasoned flour and fry quickly in a pan in a little oil to seal and brown. Now place in casserole and brown the onions and pepper in the pan with a little more oil if necessary and add to the meat. Now put ginger, stock and seasoning into the casserole and bring all to simmering point. Crush saffron with pestle and mortar

and add this too. Cook for 3 hours at 300F Gas 2 150C. Now add the apricots and lemon juice and cook for a further 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning and serve piping hot with rice or couscous.

For the cheese topping
10 oz self raising flour
3 oz butter
3 oz of good cheddar, grated
2 tbsp yoghurt mixed with 5 tbsp water

Toss the diced mutton in seasoned flour and brown in the oil, in a casserole. Next add wine and the orange zest and juice, and the sprig of rosemary. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and cook at 150C/300F, gas mark 2, for 3 hours.

For the cheese topping, rub the fat into the flour, then stir in cheese and seasoning. Next add the yoghurt to make a pliable dough and roll out. Cut into strips and lay on top of mutton stew. Bake at 200C/400F/Gas mark 6 for 15 minutes, then serve with buttery cabbage and parsley.

Onion Sauce
4 medium onions
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 vegetable stock cube

Cut off any surplus fat and place the joint in a roasting tin. Rub all over with a little oil and season generously before placing in oven 350F, Gas 4 for 25 minutes per lb and 25 minutes over, basting from time to time. Place in a warming oven to rest.

Boil the onions in water with stock cube, until soft. Remove and chop up. Make up ˝ pt of white sauce using ˝ the onion water and half milk then add the lemon juice and season.