Roast lamb, it is one of those great comfort foods that many of us grew up with, traditionally served on a Saturday or Sunday night with some veggies on the side To this day it is still one of my favourite things to make in the kitchen.
If you are looking for a fresh take on the old-school lamb roast, then you will enjoy making this hearty, rustic and incredibly easy dish that will fast become a crowd pleaser.
I found this recipe in The Southern Highlands Cookbook ( add this one to your cookbook library), written by Two Country Cooks a few years ago and haven't stopped making it since.
Instead of the usual roast spuds and veggies, it is served with pappardelle, which is a nice twist from tradition, especially during the warmer months.
Produce like always is key here. Have a chat to your local butcher and make sure you source a fresh leg of lamb.
Ingredients
2.75kg leg of lamb
3 springs of rosemary
3 cloves of garlic
350g pitted Kalamta olives
10 anchovy fillets
1 teaspoon of chilli flakes
800g canned crushed tomatoes
1 cup of beef or chicken stock
fresh pappardelle pasta
salt and pepper
grana padano or parmesan to sprinkle
Method
Preheat your oven to 140C
Cut one of the cloves of garlic into 10 thin slithers, then cut the rosemary sprig into 10 equally sized pieces.
Place the leg of lamb in a roasting tray. Make 10 small incisions all over the lamb to push the garlic slithers and rosemary sprigs in.
Pour in the canned tomatoes, stock, olives, anchovies, remaining garlic around the leg of lamb. Add some salt and freshly cracked pepper.
Tightly wrap the roasting tray with three large sheets of foil. Slow cook in the oven for 5 hours.
Remove and allow to rest for 30 minutes. This is the time to start cooking your pasta
Once rested remove the foil from the tray and use a fork to tear away the meat from the bone.Remove the bones (save for a stock if you like) and pull the meat through the sauce to form the ragu.
Drain the pasta and mix it through the ragu sauce
Top with the cheese, and tuck in!
I hope you enjoy making and eating this recipe as much as I do. Please feel free to share your photos in the comments below if you give it a go!