Easter Roast Lamb

Easter lunch has to be this Slow roasted leg of lamb with Boulangère Potatoes, salsa verde, minted peas and broad beans. This recipe is a really low maintenance, relaxed way to enjoy the bank holiday weekend.

The preparation for this is all done ahead of time, and you can leave this to cook slowly in the oven for 4-5 hours while you enjoy spending time with friends and family. The sliced potatoes and onions are cooked underneath the lamb and soak up all the delicious flavours from the meat.

I also made a salsa verde to cut through the richness of the meat and used fresh herbs to keep a fresh and vibrant colour – I had parsley, mint and coriander in my Cole & Mason UK | Burwell Self-Watering Potted Herb Keepers (coleandmason.com) which were the perfect combination.

To complete the feast, I served some seasonal vegetables on the side - minted peas and broad beans and honey and thyme carrots

Difficulty: Easy

Cooking/prep time: ½ hour prep and 4 hours cooking time

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

For the Lamb:

1 leg of lamb

4-5 sprigs of Rosemary

4 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

For the Potatoes:

2.5kg waxy potatoes

5 onions

5 Sprigs of thyme

1 chicken stock pot

4 cloves of garlic

For the Salsa Verde:

1 large handful of parsley

1 large handful of mint

1 large handful of coriander

1 tbsp dijon mustard

8 cornichons

2 tbsps capers

6 anchovy fillets

3 tbsps olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the Carrots:

8 carrots

Sprig of thyme

½ glass of orange juice

1 tbsp honey

For the Peas:

2 mugs frozen peas

2 mugs of frozen broad beans

1 knob butter

1 tbsp mint sauce

1. Prepare the leg of lamb by making 1 cm incisions all over the skin side. Stuff a sprig of rosemary and a sliver of garlic in each hole. Season with salt and pepper. Pre-heat the oven to 150C (or 135C fan)
2. Peel the 5 onions and potatoes. If you have a food processor, use the slicing attachment to first slice the onions, then the potatoes. Alternatively, slice both as thinly as possible.
3. In a pan, slowly cook the onions in oil and butter until slightly caramelised and set aside.
4. In a large bowl mix the sliced potatoes with chopped thyme, olive oil, garlic and seasoning.
5. Assemble the dish by taking a large, deep baking tray and layering a third of the potatoes on the bottom, then a third of the onion mixture. Repeat this process 3 times, finishing with potatoes on top. Dissolve the chicken stock pot in 500ml of water and pour over the potatoes.
6. Place the lamb on top of the potatoes and dot the whole dish with small pieces of butter. Cover with tinfoil and place in the oven for 4 hours. The foil should be removed for the last 45 minutes of cooking.
7. For the salsa verde, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until you have a thick-ish sauce
8. 130 minutes before serving. Peel 8 carrots and place them whole in a lidded pan. Add 1 tbsp butter, ½ cup of orange juice, 1 tbsp chopped thyme. Simmer with lid on for 20 minutes, or until carrots are softening. Remove the lid and evaporate the remaining juice. Finish by adding a tbsp of honey and glaze gently until shining and a little sticky.
9. 10 minutes before serving, boil the kettle. Place the peas and broad beans in a lidded pan. Add 1 tbsp salt. Pour the water over the veg and boil rapidly for 3-4 minutes. Drain and toss on butter. At the last minute, add the mint sauce to them and serve immediately.
10. To serve, carve the meat and sit on top of the potatoes with a good spoonful of the salsa verde on the side. Serve to your vegetables on the Cole & Mason UK | Acacia Wooden Chopping & Serving Board (coleandmason.com) and get everyone to help themselves.