What do I need?
- 2 kg leg of lamb
- 2 or 3 big garlic heads
Tip: roasting garlic adds more flavour to this delicious dish and and makes it easier to digest.
- Salt & pepper
- Olive oil
- 6 medium – sized potatoes
- 500 kg diced pumpkin
- 2 big onions
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Parsley
- Thyme
Simple steps
- Make small incisions in the leg of lamb using a pointed kitchen knife.
- Cut garlic heads in half or leave whole ( Peta, my Australian friend taught me to leave them whole when roasting)
- Put some garlic gloves and rosemary in the incisions.
- Place the lamb in a baking dish.
- Cut or use a mortar and pestle ( a device used by ancient cultures) to crush and grind herbs and spices including salt & pepper.
Tip: This process releases flavour and aroma from the herbs and spices.
- Rub the lamb with the herbs, spices and plenty, I mean plenty of olive oil.
- Pre-heat oven 200°C.
- Prepare vegetables.
- Peel pumpkin, potatoes and onions.
- Halve vegetables.
- Bake leg of lamb for 30 minutes at high heat.
- After the first 30 minutes baste well with drippings and place vegetables around the lamb, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with more olive oil.
- Reduce oven heat to 150°C (moderate) and return baking dish to oven and cook for further 2 hours basting lamb and turning vegetables every 30 minutes.
- Super tip: after cooking, remove the roast from the oven and allow to rest covered in foil for about 15 minutes to allow juices to run through the meat and be more tender and juicy to eat.
- Carve and serve with the vegetables in your favourite platter. I like to have pineapple with this dish.
Language bites
make, cut, leave, teach, put, place, crush, grind, release, rub, pre-heat, prepare, peel, halve, bake, baste, sprinkle, drizzle, reduce, return, cook, turning, remove, allow, cover, run, carve and serve.