Roast lamb is a staple of any springtime roast dinner, and there is one cooking method to make this cut of meat even more delicious.
Jamie Oliver has shared he has an “old school” recipe to make the “perfect” leg of lamb roast in time for Easter and suggests adding anchovies to the dish.
This way seems bizarre, but adding anchovies to meat is a traditional way to bring out the flavours and complement the natural richness of the lamb due to the anchovies’ rich umami taste.
Jamie said: “A perfectly roasted leg of lamb is a beautiful thing and here I want to guide you through the preparing, roasting and resting of this incredible joint of meat that will guarantee juiciness and flavour.
“There are many ways to flavour roast lamb, but I’m going old-school with garlic and rosemary, which I love. Trust me on the anchovies, it really works.”
READ MORE: Jamie Oliver’s ‘hidden’ melting middle Easter chocolate hot cross buns recipe
Instructions
To begin, preheat the oven to 220C or Gas Mark 7. Then, roughly chop up the celery, carrots and onions and place them in the oven tray along with the bay leaves.
Pierce the skin at an angle with a knife around eight times at random in the left, and then open the incisions with your fingers to make space. Rub the lamb with olive oil and then season with salt and pepper.
Strip the leaves from the rosemary and then finely slice the garlic, and then place it in a small bowl with a small drizzle of olive oil and red wine vinegar.
Once both the garlic and rosemary are fully coated, push them into the lamb fillet holes along with an anchovy fillet.
Add a splash of water to the roasting tray with the veg along with any leftover garlic and rosemary.
Place the lamb on top of the roasting tray and place in the oven. Turn the oven down to 180C/Gas Mark 4.
Cook the roast lamb depending on your preference. For well-done meat with no trace of pink, cook the leg of lamb for two hours and 15 minutes
For medium meat that is “blushing”, cook the lamb for one hour and 10 minutes. For medium well-done meat that’s “perfectly pink”, add ten more minutes to the oven time (so it cooks for one hour and 20 minutes).
Once the roast is cooked to your liking, take out the oven and leave it to rest for 30 minutes.
When the time is up, you will have a mouth-watering lamb packed with flavour and the leftover vegetables can be served along with the roast or made into a tasty homemade gravy.
