Spring has well and truly arrived, and what better way to embrace new life than with a delicious meal with your friends and family? Here's how to make a roast lamb dish that will wow your loved ones:
Roast lamb
This will undoubtedly be the star of your meal. Prep time is 20 minutes and it'll take about two hours to cook, so get ready ahead of time so you can enjoy the company of your guests. It will serve eight people.
Start by heating your oven to 140 degrees Celsius. Get yourself a large roasting tin and toss together 5 carrots, 2 onions, 4 bay leaves, a few rosemary sprigs and drizzle with olive oil. With a sharp knife make slits over your 3kg piece of organic lamb and poke garlic and a sprig of rosemary into each one.
Put the lamb on top of your chucks of vegetables with a splash of white wine. After two hours of cooking it'll be pink and in 2 hours, 15 minutes it'll be cooked through. When you take it out of the oven leave it to rest for 45 minutes to an hour with a tin foil cover.
Gravy
For a quick gravy, pour off the fat from your meat but save the vegetables and meat juices. Put the tin on heat to caramelise your vegetables. Stir in 4 tbsp plain flour to cook to a paste, and then stir in 200ml white wine. Cook for about a minute then stir in 600ml lamb stock and allow to simmer. Use a sieve or food processor to get out any lumps at the end.
Herb crumbs
Increase the heat of your oven to 200 degrees. In your food processor, blitz together 100g good-quality white bread, 2 garlic cloves, the zest of 1 lemon, 1 tsp thyme leaf, small bunch of parsley, and 3-4 anchovies.
Bake for 10-15 minutes and then crumble over your lamb. You can make the crumbs a day or two in advance are store in the fridge.
