I remember way back watching Jamie Oliver’s first episode in the spring of 1999 for the Naked Chef that was on BBC. It was a roast leg of lamb and I think from that first episode it was clear to me that I might be able to start cooking properly rather than doing just ready meals. I was daunted by the idea of starting off with a leg of lamb admittedly but then it seemed extremely straightforward. Back then, the cooker was second hand so it didn’t matter if the leg sat on the rack of the oven with what was a slightly grubby roasting tray. Having said that, it still seems fitting for such a champion piece of meat to be doing the same procedure so many years on.
What also seemed right about it was the preparing of the lamb. using the knife to create pockets for flavour seems now on reflection to be the whole mantra of Jamie’s cooking. That’s inspiring really and it showed me how easy it was to treat the herbs and make them work for you rather than be overwhelmed by their presence. It also seemed the easiest thing to do and didn’t stand on some ceremony either.
What I hadn’t used before was pancetta and this was his ‘secret’ ingredient. Not so secret now of course but back then it seemed strangely exotic as if it was a wonder meat only found on Italian holidays.
Most of us would go with this dish for Easter but it still fits with any time of year. It needs a decent mint sauce so I guess it has to be eaten before the start of Autumn when the mint is starting to brown and wither away. The macho bit is sticking the knife into the flesh between the bone and sticking those fingers in to make pockets and holes for the herbs. I don’t think you even need mint really as the herbs are doing the job for you.
Make sure the oven is really hot before roasting. I prefer slightly pink too and not bloody. Any longer and the meat might as well be black. As well as doing superb roast potatoes wit the mint sauce, he also did roasted red onions which seem to go so well with this dish.
Serves 8; Preparation time: 30 minutes; Cooking time: 1 hour 20 to 35 minutes depending on the size of the joint. Needs resting for 15 minutes at least by the way.
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Equipment:
- 1 large roasting tray
- 1 sharp paring knife
- pestle and mortar
Ingredients:
- 2 kg leg of lamb or hogget
- 1 bulb of garlic
- ½ a bunch of fresh rosemary
- a good sized bunch of fresh sage
- 1.5 kg potatoes, peeled and chopped in halves – roughly the same size.
- 1 lemon
- olive oil – at least 2 if not 3 tablespoons
- 3 or 4 pancetta rashers
Ingredients for Mint Sauce:
- 1 bunch of fresh mint
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons wine vinegar
Preparation for The Roast Leg of Lamb:
- Remove the lamb from the fridge 1 hour before it needs cooking and let it come up to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 240ºC/450ºF/gas 6-7 and place a roasting dish for the potatoes on the bottom.
- Take a sharp paring knife or one with a long blade and stick it down beneath the leg bone and the flesh. Push the finger in a few times into each incision to create a pocket for the herbs. Repeat at the other end.
- Create similar pockets in about 8 places with incisions at about 45 degrees especially on the surface and the side that is usually hidden away. The key is just be careful handling the knife with your fingers so close by. Jamie does about 1 1/2 inches of cut before sticking those fingers in. I got the random bit too meaning try to do these 8 cuts on different parts of the leg. The leg goes back into the roasting tray.
- Break the garlic bulb up into cloves and peel 3 of them, leaving the rest whole.
- Taking the bunch of sage, leave half for a bit later and just rip the leaves off the other half. Put into a pestle and mortar with a peeled clove of garlic and some salt. Smash it up and just enjoy the aromas!
- Add the remaining whole sage leaves along with about 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the juice of a lemon cut in two, into the mortar.
- Pick and roughly chop half the rosemary leaves which also goes into the mortar.
- Using hands, mix all the herbs and juice together, just grab a mass and rub it all over the meat. It makes a fragrant marinade that just flavours the whole leg. Season the lamb too with sea salt and black pepper.
- The remaining herby mass is then pushed as deep as possible into all the holes that have been made and next to the bone as well. I noticed that 4 inches was a good depth when next to the bone joint.
- Take the pancetta rashers and rip up. Shove these into the holes as well.
- Sprinkle more salt onto the leg of lamb where it sticks because of the olive oil.
- Place on the hot bars of the oven with the empty roasting tray underneath to catch the drips.
- Cook the lamb for about 30 minutes per pound. It works out for a 2 kg leg at 1 hour 15 minutes if you wanted it pink, or 1 hour 30 minutes if you need it more well done. Add another 15 or 20 minutes on top of that cook time and then take out of the oven and rest completely, which is the success of this dish.
The Roast Potatoes:
- Peel and halve the potatoes.
- Parboil the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water for between 5 and 10 minutes, then drain and allow to steam dry. Gently toss the potatoes in the colander to scuff up the edges, then tip back into the pan.
- Tip the potatoes into the hot tray and place back under the lamb to catch all the lovely juices. Add the remaining rosemary sprigs and whole garlic cloves to the potatoes, season with salt and pepper, then drizzle over a good lug of oil. Give the potatoes a shake so they get coated fully with the lamb fat. Jamie adds his potatoes about 20 minutes into the roasting time. I always think the tray should be under the lamb as long as possible to catch all the drips but I know there will always be some cleaning of the oven on the bottom afterwards. Heyho!
- Turn the heat down to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6 and continue the roasting!
The Mint Sauce
- Meanwhile, make the mint sauce. Pick and finely chop the mint leaves, then place in a small bowl. Mix in the sugar, a good pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon of hot water and the vinegar.
- When the lamb is cooked as you wanted it, remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes or so. Carve and serve with the roast potatoes, mint sauce, carrots and ‘seasonal’ greens.
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