Spiced Roast Leg of Lamb

Ingredients

• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsps tomato puree
• 15g plain flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 30ml lemon juice
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 3 onions
• 3 tbsps vegetable oil
• 1 beef stock cube
• ½ Pint water
• 150ml white wine
• 5g cornflour
• 1362g leg of lamb

Method

Preheat the oven to 240°C (475°F, Gas 9)

1. Peel & slice the garlic into thin sticks. Peel & quarter the onions.
2. Cut a lattice pattern into the skin of the lamb and use the garlic slivers to spike the lamb.
3. Mix the tomato puree with the flour, salt, lemon juice, and 4-5 crushed peppercorns. Brush the mixture onto the lamb and leave it to marinate in a cool place for 12 hours.
4. Heat the oil in a roasting tin on the hob, seal the lamb and add the onions and half the prepared stock.
5. Roast the lamb on the bottom shelf of the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to moderately hot (200°C, 400°F, gas 6) and roast the meat for a further 40 minutes, basting frequently with the roasting juices and gradually adding the wine and the remaining stock.
6. At the end of the cooking time, turn off the oven, transfer the lamb to a plate and leave it to stand in the oven for about 10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, dissolve the cornflour in a little water. Then in a small saucepan, dilute the roasting juices with a little hot water and thicken with the cornflour mixture to use as a gravy.