Agnello Arrosto con Carciofi alla Sarda

Score the lamb shoulder across the skin at 2 cm intervals, cutting into the fat layer but not through to the meat, so the rendered fat has clear channels through which to escape during roasting rather than pooling trapped beneath the skin. Rub wild mint (mentuccia sarda) firmly into the scored cuts so the herb is pressed against the exposed fat and not merely sitting on the surface. Season with fine sea salt and black pepper, then allow the lamb to rest at room temperature while the oven heats to 220 °C — the scored skin will be visibly open and the herb scent should be evident before the joint goes in.

Set the lamb shoulder skin-side up in a heavy roasting pan and roast at 220 °C for 20 minutes. This is where the dish lives or dies: the fat must begin to render freely through the scored skin before the temperature is reduced, because insufficient rendering at this stage means the artichokes will not have enough fat to cook in later, and the defining flavour exchange between lamb fat and artichoke cannot occur. The fat should be visibly bubbling and beginning to pool in the pan before you touch the dial.

Reduce the oven to 180 °C and add the Cannonau di Sardegna to the roasting pan so the wine lifts the caramelised deposits from the base and keeps the pan juices bright rather than scorched throughout the long roast. Continue roasting, basting occasionally with the pan juices, until the lamb has been in the oven for a total of approximately 1 hour 20 minutes from the start. The pan juices should be bright and the lamb skin deep golden.

Forty minutes before the end of the total roasting time, arrange the trimmed and halved artichokes cut-side down around the lamb in the pan so they take on colour and absorb the lamb fat directly rather than steaming and softening as they would if liquid surrounded them. They will cook in the rendered lamb fat, not in water, and after 40 minutes the artichoke edges in contact with the pan should be visibly charred at the margins. The inner leaves should yield at once to a knife point.

Transfer the lamb to a board and the artichokes to a warm dish, then rest the lamb loosely covered for 15 minutes so the juices, which have been driven toward the surface by the heat, can redistribute back through the joint and the carve will be moist rather than weeping. The surface should feel firm but give slightly under pressure after resting.

Strain the pan juices into a small jug, discarding any solids. Carve the lamb and arrange on a platter with the artichokes, then pour the strained pan juices over at the table. The charred artichoke edges are the most flavourful part; they are not discarded.