Home > Comfort Food Recipes > Blues Buster's > Roast Leg Of Lamb
Roast Leg Of Lamb
Ingredients
1.5kg/3¾lb leg of lamb
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
30ml/2 tbsp light olive oil
300ml/½ pint/1¼ cups red wine
5ml/1 tsp clear honey
45ml/3 tbsp redcurrant jelly
Salt and ground black pepper
For the roast potatoes
45ml/3 tbsp white vegetable fat or lard (shortening)
1.3kg/3lb potatoes, such as Desirée, cut into chunks
For the mint sauce
About 15g/½oz/½ cup fresh mint
10ml/2 tsp caster (superfine) sugar
15ml/1 tbsp boiling water
30ml/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
Details
Serves: 6
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. Make small slits into the lamb all over the skin. Press a slice of garlic and a few rosemary leaves into each slit, then place the lamb in a roasting pan and season well. Drizzle the oil over the lamb and roast it for about 1 hour, or until it is cooked to taste.
2. Meanwhile, mix the wine, honey and redcurrant jelly in a small pan and heat, stirring, until the jelly melts. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until reduced by half. Spoon this glaze over the lamb and return it to the oven for 30-45 minutes.
3. To prepare the potatoes, put the fat in a roasting pan on the oven shelf above the meat. Boil the potatoes for 5-10 minutes, then drain them and fluff up the surface of each with a fork.
4. Add the prepared potatoes to the hot fat and baste well, then roast them for 40-50 minutes, or until they are crisp.
5. Make the mint sauce while the potatoes are roasting. Place the mint on a chopping board and sprinkle the sugar over the top. Chop finely, then transfer the mint and sugar to a bowl.
6. Add the boiling water and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add 15ml/1 tbsp vinegar and taste the sauce before adding the remaining vinegar. You may want to add slightly less or more than the suggested quantity. Leave the mint sauce to stand until you are ready to serve the meal.
7. Cover the lamb with foil and set it aside in a warm place to rest for 10-15 minutes before carving. Serve with the crisp roast potatoes, mint sauce and a selection of seasonal vegetables.
COOK'S TIP:- To make a quick and tasty gravy from the pan juices, add about 300ml/½ pint/1¼ cups red wine, stock or water and boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced and well-flavoured. Season to taste, then strain into a sauce boat to serve.
Energy 569Kcal/2376kj; Protein 51.7g; Carbohydrate 45.2g, of which sugars 10.3g; Fat 35.2g, of which saturates 13.4g; Cholesterol 174mg; Calcium 29mg; Fibre 2.8g; Sodium 130mg
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