This leg of lamb recipe is packed with a variety of herbs and spices that will have your taste buds singing and your insides glowing. Combining lamb with aromatic sprigs of fresh rosemary adds flavour and fragrance to the meat, while also offering numerous health benefits to your digestive system. I like to marinate the leg of lamb overnight so it soaks up all the flavours of herbs and spices, but also to ensure the only thing I have to do on Christmas Day is just pop it in the oven. I do the same thing with the vegies. Wash, chop and prepare everything the previous day or night, then just place it under the meat when ready. This makes for a super-simple and stress-free Christmas lunch.
Serves: 6–10
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Servings
6-10
Prep time
Cook time
Recipe
Ingredients
- Spiced Marinade
- 2 tbsp sheep milk yoghurt
- 3cm piece ginger, finely grated
- 4 large garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp ground paprika
- 1 tbsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
- Juice 2 lemons
-
- Lamb
- 2kg leg lamb, with bone
- 2 fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped
- 1 fresh chilli, deseeded & chopped
- 150g truss-vined berry tomatoes
- 4 whole garlic cloves
- Sea salt & black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
Method
- To make marinade, mix all ingredients in large bowl.
- With sharp knife, make deep cuts evenly across both sides of lamb leg.
- Rub generous amount of salt and pepper into meat. Then spoon marinade over and massage in, making sure it gets deep into incisions.
- Scatter half of chopped rosemary and chilli over meat, pushing them into cuts. Place lamb in bowl and cover with clingwrap. Leave overnight to marinate and let meat soak up flavours and spices.
- Remove lamb from fridge and leave at room temperature for at least 30 mins before cooking.
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- Place lamb, remaining rosemary, tomatoes and garlic cloves in tray lined with foil and roast for 20 mins.
- Reduce heat to 150°C and cook for further 1 hour and 40 mins (for lamb that’s pink in the middle).
- Halfway through roasting or once lamb is crisp and golden on outside, shake tray, cover with foil and rotate and return to oven the opposite way.
- Remove from oven, leave foil on loosely and let rest on lamb rack for at least 15 mins.
- Slice and serve.
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