recipe - The perfect roast leg of lamb - The Guardian

The perfect roast leg of lamb

The classic way of cooking this is to make incisions all over the joint and put slivers of garlic and rosemary into the holes prior to cooking. There are many variants on this theme, including using anchovies or ginger. The recipe I have chosen requires a bit more effort. Allow 10-12 minutes per 500g for rare; 15 minutes for medium-rare; 20 minutes for well done.

Serves 6-8

1 leg of lamb, weighing about 2.75kg
2 lemons
1-2 large garlic cloves (slivered)
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp ground ginger
salt and freshly ground pepper

Peel the lemons, keeping the peel in one long strip. Cut each strip into three so that you have six long strips. Without breaking the skin, score the surface of the lamb with crosshatched diagonal lines at 4cm intervals. Make small holes every 2.5cm along each of the score lines, preferably using a larding needle. Weave the lemon strips along the holes in the score marks, going in at one, under the skin, and out at another - just as if darning a sock. The finished surface of the lamb should resemble a woven basket. Make several small incisions between the lemon rinds and insert slivers of garlic. Place the joint in a roasting tin. Squeeze the lemons and combine the juice with the rest of the ingredients. Spoon this over the lamb and refrigerate for two hours.

Preheat the oven to 230C/gas 8. Roast the lamb in the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 160C/gas 3. Baste every 15 minutes and cook for the remaining calculated cooking time. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

from http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2006/oct/22/foodanddrink.features3

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