For a sunny Sunday lunch leave out the roast potatoes and thick gravy in favour of an altogether more summery combination of colours and flavours.This mash is almost green with good olive oil and further flavoured with fresh herbs, garlic and lemon juice. It’s is a good foil for the sweetness of the peppers and the richness of the lamb. For the vegetables choose a vibrant selection of peppers, red, yellow and orange, and combine them with aubergine and courgette. I very much like to use fennel bulb too, but appreciate that not everyone cares for its flavour. You should exercise your own preferences, putting in or leaving out vegetables of your choice - but use plenty as they shrink so considerably during cooking time.

Ingredients - serves 4

1.5kg shoulder of lamb
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt, pepper
glass of white wine
handful of mixed fresh herbs - rosemary, oregano & thyme

1 red pepper
1 orange pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 courgette
1 aubergine
1 fennel bulb
1 red onion
3 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

4 medium potatoes
juice of 1 small lemon
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
1 tbsp of mixed, chopped parsley, chervil and chives

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C
Pierce the lamb roast and insert slivers of garlic, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper before placing in a roasting dish - scatter with the fresh herbs and pour over a glass of white wine - cover tightly with foil then transfer to the oven for at least 2 1/2 hours - then rest in a warm place.

While the shoulder is cooking, peel and boil the potatoes with the garlic cloves in salted water until cooked. Mash well (best done through a ricer or mouli) and add the lemon juice to taste. Now mount the potato with olive oil until it has a looser consistency and a gloss. Fold in the chopped herbs, keep warm.

While the potatoes boil... seed the peppers and cut into chunks; trim the courgette and slice; trim the aubergine, slice and dice; trim and slice the fennel; peel, halve and slice the red onion. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy frying pan or wok, then fry the vegetables over a high heat until cooked through and colouring at the edges, season.

Divide the Mediterranean vegetables between four warmed plates, top with roast lamb (which should be meltingly tender), and serve with the green, glossy mash.