Roast Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary

Ingredients

• 2.2 kg leg of lamb, bone in
• 6 garlic cloves, cut into slivers
• several sprigs of rosemary
• 5 anchovy fillets, cut in half
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 kg potatoes, thickly sliced
• 2 onions, sliced
• 400 ml stock
• 150 ml white wine

Method

1. Stud the lamb

   Make deep incisions all over the leg with a small knife and push in garlic slivers, rosemary tips and a piece of anchovy. The anchovy does not taste fishy in the finished roast — it dissolves and makes the lamb taste more of itself.

2. Season and oil

   Rub with oil and plenty of salt, and leave it out of the fridge for an hour before it goes near the oven.

   1 h

3. Build the potato base

   Layer the potatoes and onions in a large tin, season, and pour over the stock and wine. Sit the lamb directly on top so everything it drips renders down into the potatoes.

4. Hot start, then lower

   Roast at 220°C for 20 minutes to colour the fat, then drop to 170°C for the rest. The initial blast is what browns the outside without overcooking the middle.

   20 min

5. Cook to temperature

   Continue until the thickest part reads 55°C for pink, about an hour more. Cover loosely with foil if it is browning too fast.

   1 h

6. Rest

   Rest 25 minutes under foil while the potatoes finish in the oven. A leg this size holds its heat easily, and the rest is what makes it carve cleanly.

   25 min