Today, Thursday, I get to see the orthopaedic surgeon having picked up the CD of my Xray. I am hoping to call in at The Rising Dough bakery for some more Cornish Pasties and some Hot Cross Buns. They make very good ones. For me, Good Friday needs Hot Cross Buns the same as Easter weekend needs a lamb roast. This is half a picture which has always fascinated me, it's from one of my Time Life Cookbooks. It shows the men of a Greek village cooking their family's sheep over a communal barbecue in the street. Meanwhile their wives are preparing everything else which goes with the feast. I don't know if it still happens, but they used to get a young lamb and bring it up as a family pet, then slaughter it at Easter which was symbolic of the crucifixion. I cannot imagine living with an animal and then eating it. I was talking about a programme called Cook Abroad. The chef was in Egypt and they slaughtered the lamb in front of him. It was not shown on film but some years ago there was a travel programme made in the UK and they did show a goat being slaughtered before being eaten. One knows it happens but most of us are unable to watch such things. We like to get our meat in a nice little packet all wrapped up in the supermarket. I am just as bad as anyone else.I personally never cook anything special for St. Patrick's Day. Nor did most Irish people living in Ireland. It is much more celebrated here I think. I read the other day that the first St. Paddy's Day parade took place in Boston - not in Ireland.
This a recipe from England. I have never heard of browning the roast before you put it in the oven, but if you have time, not a bad idea.
Roast lamb studded with rosemary and garlic
BBC Good Food
If you have time, stud the lamb a day in advance to allow the flavours to really permeate the meat
Serves 6 - 8
- leg of lamb weighing 2½ kg/5lb 8oz
- 1 garlic bulb
- 1 bunch rosemary
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 carrot , cut into large chunks
- 1 onion , cut into quarters
- 1 glass red wine (about 150ml)
- 1.2litre beef or lamb stock
- The first job is to stud the lamb with garlic and rosemary. Use a sharp pointed knife, make at least 30 small incisions all over the meat. Peel 4 garlic cloves, thinly slice them and prod a slice into each incision. Next, pull off small sprigs of rosemary and push into the incisions,too. If done in advance, cover the lamb well and refrigerate. Remove from the fridge 1 hr before roasting
- Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Heat a large frying pan, add a little oil and brown the lamb all over. Scatter the carrot, onion, remaining garlic and rosemary in a large roasting tin, pour in the wine and stock, then place the browned lamb in the tin.
- Roast for about 1 hr 45 mins. Turn the lamb halfway through so by the time it’s cooked, each side has been in the stock. When cooked, remove the lamb and allow to rest in a warm place covered in foil for about 30 mins.
- While the lamb is resting, make the gravy. Pour all the stock from the tin through a sieve into a saucepan to remove all the vegetables and herbs. This stock should be rich, slightly thick and have a great lamb flavour. Reduce it a little on the hob if you feel you want to concentrate the flavour, skimming off any fat that comes to the surface. Serve the lamb with the gravy, potatoes leeks and butternut squash
Have a great day
