Slow Roast Leg of Lamb

Sunday Lunch in the UK is something of an institution. There's limited store trading; most places close early on a Sunday and even in this age of 24 hour gratification, some things remain sacred to family life. Growing up in the Sowerby house, two things were dietary guarantees: There would be a full English Breakfast on a Saturday (or at the very least a bacon sarnie) and a substantial lunch and pudding on a Sunday afternoon. Few things could stir a pair of sulky teenagers like my brother and I from our beds at the weekend like the smell of grilling bacon or searing animal flesh rising up from the kitchen below.

As its our last Sunday before jetting back to the heat & humidity of my adopted home, I wanted to prepare an old favorite - a long and slow roasted leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic. This was one of my Mum's standbys and with a couple of tweaks; its one of mine too!

Recipe Ingredients

1. Leg of lamb (bone in)


2. 2 heads of garlic


3. 1 large onion


4. 1 lemon


5. sprigs of fresh rosemary


6. 3/4 bottle of dry white wine



7. 1 pint of chicken broth/stock

Recipe Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.


2. Cut a few slits in your leg of lamb and place in slivers of rosemary and garlic.


3. Place a solid roasting tin over your hob/cooktop and heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.
   
4. Cover the meat in seasoned flour and brown on all sides.


5. Add the chopped onion, the rest of the garlic, sliced lemon, wine & chicken stock and bring to a boil over the heat.


6. Reduce to a simmer and place in the oven for 3 to 3 and a half hours basting every half hour.


7. There will be plenty of juices left in the pan to serve with the meat and it'll be moist enough after this long slow cooking to shred with a spoon and fork.

I also had two chickens (see below) for the plainer eaters amongst us which I prepared in exactly the same way aside from some bacon to protect the moistness of the breast and obviously a reduced cooking time.

Serve with copious amounts of roast potatoes & vegetables alongside the winey, lemony, garlicky juices from the meat.