Roasted leg of lamb being prepared. (Photo courtesy of Petty Elliott)
This Sunday, Christians around the world will celebrate Easter. While the most common Easter treats are chocolate eggs and bunnies, there are many other sweets and dishes such as simnel cake and hot cross buns.
For those who like lamb, it is easy to prepare a meal for eight to 10 people with one leg of lamb, roasted potatoes and simple mixed salad depend on how hungry your guests are. As much as I like to use local ingredients, sometimes we need to use imported ingredients for something we don’t have locally. Lamb is usually imported from Australia or New Zealand and are easy to find in local supermarkets.
Lamb has a very distinctive strong flavor. Combined with the right herbs, it has a really nice and delicious taste. Rosemary and garlic are a perfect combination with lamb. In classic roasted dishes, gravy — a sauce with a creamy texture that is made from the juice of the roasted meat — is very important. I will serve my roasted lamb without gravy but with homemade mint sauce — a thin savory sauce that is made from mint, vinegar and sugar traditionally served in British cooking as an accompaniment to roast lamb. It gives a lighter delicious taste. Our locally growth mint has a lighter flavor and aroma compare to British or Moroccan mint but it is good enough. You can add a touch of green chilies to the mint sauce to give an extra kick if you like. If you buy frozen leg of lamb, it is very important to defrost it thoroughly before cooking it. Enjoy!
Roasted leg of lamb with homemade mint sauce
It is really nice to have cooked meat outside of the leg of lamb but pink tender meat inside. Serves 8-10
Ingredients
• 2.7 kg leg of lamb on the bone; 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and cut into 4 pieces and set aside,1 whole garlic head and broken into cloves and keep the skin, a small bunch of rosemary, cut into 2 cm length; 4 tablespoons olive oil; 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper; salt to season.
• For the homemade mint sauce: A large bunch of fresh mint (30 g, leaves only); 60 ml apple vinegar; 80 ml water; 2 tablespoons of sugar, a pinch of salt.
Directions:
1. Remove the lamb from the fridge one hour before staring cooking to allow the lamb to get to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
3. With a sharp thin knife, make between 20-25 small incisions into the flesh of the lamb. They should be big enough for you to stick just your fingertip into.
4. Put the garlic pieces and rosemary into the holes that you have made.
5. Season with salt, black pepper and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Rub the mixture all over the lamb.
6. Heat a large roasting pan and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Brown the leg of lamb for both sides until golden brown.
7. Place the roasting tin in the preheated oven for 30 minutes and add the cloves of garlic. Then reduce the heat to 170 degrees Celsius and continue to roast for further 1 1/2 hours (for medium), with pinkish meat. Cook an extra 30-25 minutes for medium well. Basting the lamb with the juice from time to time. At the end of cooking time, remove the lamb from the oven and leave it to rest in the roasting tin for 15 minutes, with some foil on top to keep it warm.
8. Prepare the mint sauce. Wash the mint leaves and strip off the stalks and chopped finely.
9. In a pan, put the water and sugar and bring to simmer until the sugar melted. Turn the heat off. Add the vinegar and chopped mint. Keep stirring to cool and add the vinegar. Season with salt and taste.
10. Add more water or vinegar and adjust seasoning to suit your taste. Allow the sauce to stand for 15-20 minutes.
11. Sliced the meat of the leg of the lamb and placed on large serving plate. Serve with mint sauce and also any carbohydrate you have prepared and simple mixed salad.
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