Boned and Rolled Leg of Lamb

Boned and rolled leg of lamb is easier to carve and is quicker to cook than other cuts. If you prefer to eat your meat medium to rare, give the children the sliced well-done ends of the meat, as their meat needs to be cooked through.

By Caroline Marson

Cookery advisor

All recipes by Caroline Marson

Ingredients

Serves 8-10

1.3kg boned and rolled leg of lamb

1 tablespoon Olive oil
Olive oil

Usually the darker green the oil, the richer the flavour.
- Extra virgin olive oil is good for drizzling on salads and should never be heated as this destroys the fine properties
- Lighter olive oil is good for adding to bread, or to flavour a salad or marinade for chicken, meat, fish or vegetables. Lighter olive oil can be gently heated and added to marinades and baking.
Black peppercorns
Black peppercorns

Best used as a condiment.
They can be lightly crushed and used to spice up a creamy sauce or to coat fillet steak or chicken breasts.
- Although it might seem odd, grinding black pepper over a bowl of strawberries enhances the flavour of the fruit.
- Pepper that is pre-ground is not fresh tasting and often has other ingredients mixed in.
- Choose the type of mill that suits you, and if you want coarser pepper you can loosen the screw on the top of the mill or crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar
1 bunch rosemary Herbs

Herbs

Ideal for seasoning pastas.

To keep cut parsley or coriander, put in a hole free polythene bag with a couple of tablespoons of cold water, give the bag a good shake and keep in the salad drawer of the fridge. Herbs should keep for a week like this.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) mark 6.
Season the meat with lots of black pepper. Heat the oil in a roasting tray, and brown the meat on all sides. Scatter rosemary leaves across the bottom of the tray, lay the meat on top, and roast in a preheated oven for 20 minutes per 450g plus 20 minutes, basting every now and again.
Leave to rest in a warm place for about 15 minutes after removing from the oven. Serve with mash potatoes, roast parsnips and cauliflower cheese plus gravy and mint sauce.

Recipe Variation – Braise with vegetables

If at the end of the week you find you have vegetables that are left in the fridge, chop off any soft or bruised pieces and put these bits on into the compost bin. Chop what’s left of the vegetables with some onions and garlic and put them into the base of a roasting tray, with a glass or two of water, stock or wine and sit the lamb on top of them. Cover and cook as above, adding more liquid if necessary to make sure the vegetables don’t dry out. Then when the lamb is cooked, drain away any excess fat and serve with the other vegetables. This works very well if you have a chicken brick as it keeps in all the flavours and makes the meat very moist.

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