Lamb Roast with Thyme and Garlic
Spike your leg of lamb with little tufts of thyme and tiny slivers of garlic. Delicious hot, warm or at room temperature on a buffet. Loin of lamb, shoulder or rump may also be cooked in the same manner.
SERVES
8
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
50
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
90
MINUTES
Ingredients
Â
1 x 2.7-3.2kg leg of lamb
4-5 cloves of garlic
little sprigs of thyme
salt and freshly ground pepper
For the gravy
600ml stock, preferably homemade lamb stock
roux (optional)
Method
Choose a good leg of lamb with a thin layer of fat. Ask the butcher to trim the knuckle and remove the aitch bone for ease of carving later.
With the point of a sharp knife or skewer, make deep holes all over the lamb, about 2.5cm apart. It is a good idea not to do this on the underside of the joint, in case somebody insists on eating their lamb unflavoured. Divide the thyme sprigs into tufts of three or four leaves together.
Peel the garlic cloves and cut them into little spikes about the same size as a matchstick broken into three. Stick a spike of garlic into each hole with a tuft of thyme. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two if you have time. Alternatively cook immediately.
Heat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.
Sprinkle the joint with salt and freshly ground pepper and put it into a roasting tin in the oven. Reduce the heat to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 after 20 minutes. Cook 1 hour approx. more for rare lamb, 1 1/2 hours if it is to be well done. Remove the joint to a serving dish and allow it to rest while you make the gravy.
Gravy
Spoon the fat off the roasting tin. Pour the stock into the cooking juices remaining in the tin. Boil for a few minutes, stirring and scraping the pan well, to dissolve the caramelised meat juices (I find a small whisk ideal for this). Thicken with a very little roux if you like.
Taste and add salt and freshly ground pepper if necessary. Strain and serve the gravy separately in a gravy boat. Serve with lots of crusty roast potatoes and apple and mint jelly on the side.
