The Perfect Lamb Roast

This is such an easy recipe that doesn’t require you to buy anything too fancy or expensive. I found it somewhere on the internet, modified it a bit the more I cooked it, and the roast turns out amazingly each time. I know it is summertime for most people on Mibba, but there will be some of you (like me!) who are in winter now, so this is a great dish to keep you warm!

You Will Need:

· A lamb roast (leg, boneless, shoulder, rolled… you name it!)

· A decent amount of rosemary

· 2 unpeeled bulbs of garlic (more if you really like it, and less if you’re not that fond)

· Salt and pepper

· Olive oil

· Tin foil

· Winter vegetables (optional)

Method:

1. Turn your oven on to full heat.

2. Put the roast in the oven dish and use a sharp knife to cut the layer of fat, making a crisscross pattern at about 2-3cm intervals.

3. Using the knife, make tiny pockets everywhere in the roast and alternate between slipping in some rosemary and adding some broken off garlic. It depends on the size of your roast, but you should only put in approximately five of each.

4. Cover the meat with oil.

5. Get the salt and rub it into the roast, ensuring you get every surface.

6. Put the rest of the garlic and rosemary evenly below and on top of the roast.

7. Cover the roast in the dish with the tin foil and put in the preheated oven.

8. Immediately turn the temperature down to approximately 170°C (325°F) (slightly lower if oven is fan-forced).

9. Cook for four hours. Keep an eye on it, as time will vary depending on the size and how well done you like your meat. When it’s done, it will fall off the bone (if there is one), and there will be sufficient juice leftover to use for a sauce (I sometimes add it to a sachet to make gravy, and it works quite well).

(Optional) Roast Vegetables

1. It depends on how large you are going to cut your vegetables, but if you cut them rather small they will take approximately 45 minutes to cook. Therefore, start preparing them when there is about an hour left for the roast.

2. Wash and cut your choice of winter vegetables. I commonly use potatoes, onions, carrots, parsnips and yams to go with this roast (in order of how well they suit the lamb), but feel free to add other winter vegetables, or just do potatoes.

3. Either mix them all in a bowl with some oil, salt and pepper, or put them straight in the oven dish and add salt and pepper on top. You can also add another bulb of garlic at this step if you like it.

4. Spread them evenly in the dish around the lamb. They will sit in the juice and soak it up, making them taste even more delicious.

5. Cover the dish once more and put it in the oven for the remaining amount of time.