Thursday, May 03, 2007

Roast Leg of Lamb with Rosemary & Garlic.


This is what happens when you need to feed your baby just as the roast needs carving & you forget to yell out ‘Take a photo!’, you end up with a photo of bones. Yes, for Michael’s birthday I had the family over for dinner which meant 10 people, so what is the easiest & most delicious thing to cook for those numbers, especially when you have a 10 week old baby not letting you spend much time in the kitchen? That’s right, the good old Aussie favourite, Roast Lamb. I used Jamie Oliver’s recipe from the original Naked Chef for a simple Rosemary & Garlic flavouring, I think this combination is probably the best you can do to a lamb roast. So easy too, bash it all together, whack it in the oven, follow with some veggies, whisk up a gravy at the end & walla, a magnificent birthday feast (at least I hope they all thought so).

Roast Leg of Lamb with Rosemary & Garlic.

1 leg of lamb (about 2kg)
½ lemon
1 handful of picked fresh rosemary
salt
1 clove of garlic
olive oil
some extra bunches of rosemary

Slice of small pieces of skin about the size of a 5 cent piece at random around the leg of lamb. Lightly rub with the lemon. With a knife, follow the bone down about 10-12 cm. Do this from the top end and the bottom end. Using a mortar & pestle, smash up a small handful of picked rosemary with 1 teaspoon salt. Add the garlic & ½ tablespoon olive oil and pound again. Rub this mixture on to the exposed flesh & push into the gaps you have made with the knife next to the bone. Season the skin with salt, and then sprinkle it with rosemary. Tie lots of branches of rosemary around the meat. Put a little oil in a hot roasting tray, add the lamb, & roast it in the oven at 225c, turning every 30 minutes.

Cooking times
Pink – 10 Minutes for every 450g plus 20 minutes
Medium – 13 minutes for every 450g plus 20 minutes
Well Done – 20 minutes for every 450g plus 20 minutes.

Always rest the meat for at least 10 minutes before carving.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aww, I'm so glad that roasting season is back! That lamb looks pretty good, but those pan juices are what really get me excited! Jus/Gravy? :D

paul kennedy said...

It doesn't matter how you photograph a roast, it always look delicious.

I can just about taste it.

Anonymous said...

Hi there, i was wondering if I could marinate it the night before? If i do, do i leave out lemon until when i am almost ready to grill? Or it's alright to add lemon in the night b4?

Thinking of cooking this dish on sunday for a couple of friends.

Ange said...

I dont think it would hurt to prepare it in advance, though beleive me it only takes about 10 minutes to get teh lamb ready so not very time consuming on the day either