Our roast leg of lamb at Canteen is really good. Obviously the quality of the meat is paramount, and for a proper roast it’s worth spending a bit. The lamb is roasted with a lot of garlic and the slow-cooked cloves become quite sweet, making a gravy that is deliciously garlicky but not too pungent.
Ingredients
- 1 boned and rolled leg of lamb, weighing about 2 kg
- handful of fresh rosemary
- 3 garlic bulbs, cut in half horizontally
- 1½ tbsp olive oil
- salt and black pepper
Gravy
- 1 tbsp plain white flour
- 300 ml meat stock
To Serve
- Roast potatoes
- Mint sauce
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. Tuck some of the rosemary sprigs under the string all over the lamb. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Place the garlic halves and remaining rosemary over the bottom of a roasting tray. Set the lamb on top and drizzle over the olive oil.
- Roast for 1–1¼ hours for nice pink meat. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
- Lift the lamb from the tray and place on a warmed serving plate. Set aside while you make the gravy.
- Squeeze the garlic out of the papery husks. Discard any cloves that are blackened. Sprinkle the flour into the roasting tray and mix with the roasting juices and garlic, squashing it well. Whisk in the stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer for a few minutes. Strain the gravy. Check the seasoning.
- Cut the lamb into slices and serve with the gravy plus roast potatoes, some vegetables and mint sauce.
