Off Duty Chef: Bringing It Home airs Wednesdays at 8.30pm on RTÉ One.
Ingredients
Serves 6
- 1 whole leg of lamb (2-2.5kg)
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 lemons
- Handful mint, chopped
- Handful dill, stalks removed
- Handful
- flat leaf parsley, chopped
- Handful chives, sliced
- 2 tbsp gravy granules
- 1kg cleaned new season potatoes, skin on
- For the butter:
- 1 tin anchovies
- 200g salted butter, softened
- Sea salt
- Lemon juice
- Black pepper
Method
- Start with the leg of lamb; preheat your oven to 150c, line a baking tray with tinfoil.
- Peel the cloves of garlic and carefully slice the zest from one of the lemons, leaving behind the white pith from the inside.
- Using a paring knife, stab some deep holes in the leg of lamb, stuff each hole with a clove of garlic and slice of lemon. Season the meat with salt and pepper before placing on the baking tray and covering in another layer of tinfoil.
- Place in the oven and cook for 3 hours at 150c until the meat is just starting to soften.
- At this point remove the tinfoil lid and strain the lamb juices into a separate saucepan. Return the lamb to the oven and increase the heat to 220c. Roast for a further 30 mins until the skin and fat go crispy and golden brown.
- While the lamb is finishing, make the butter. Place the anchovies and butter in a bowl and mix until the anchovy fillets are no longer visible. Season the butter with salt and pepper and some lemon juice.
- Place a pot of water on the heat, season with salt and add the potatoes. Bring to the boiling before reducing to a simmer and cook until just softened when tested with a fork. Strain the water and add some of the anchovy butter. Allow it to melt and coat the potatoes.
- To finish the lamb, add the gravy granules to the lamb juices and bring the mix to the boil. Reduce over a high heat until a rich, paste-like liquid forms. Brush this onto the lamb leg so it sticks to the skin and creates a shiny glaze.
- Finish the lamb by covering in a forest of the green herbs, adding a grating of lemon zest and some salt and cracked black pepper. Serve on top of the potatoes to share.