Lamb gives me that inimitable feeling of festivity. It takes me back to my childhood when my dad, a fantastic cook, would serve his delicious lamb for special occasions at home. It has become a tradition for us to have lamb at one of our many New Year dinners and I love that I get the opportunity here to share my slow roast lamb recipe with you. The best thing about this recipe is you just chuck the leg into the oven and leave it there while you put your feet up. I hope you try this dish and have a very Happy 2024!
Ingredients
- 2kg leg of lamb
Marinade
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy
- 1 tbsp dark soy
- 1 cup beef or chicken stock
- 8 garlic cloves grated
- 1 thumb ginger grated
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp cayenne
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp pepper
Grilled Vegetables
- 4 big onions halved
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 punnet mushrooms halved
- 1 punnet cherry tomatoes
Instructions
Bring together all the ingredients in the marinade section in a bowl and mix properly. Rub this concoction all over your lamb and leave it to marinade overnight if possible. You need at least a couple of hours for the flavours to penetrate and take.
When you are ready to cook, pour your cup of stock into a tray and then gently place the lamb on top of the stock. Cover with foil, shove the tray into a preheated oven (200°C fan assisted) and immediately turn down your oven to 180°C.
Roast for 1 1/2 hours on this side, then flip and roast for another 1 1/2 hours covered. Check to see if the meat is forking off the bone. If not, another 30-40 mins may be required.
Add the halved onions, head of garlic, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes to roast with all that fat. You can of course, choose to add in potatoes if you fancy. Now discard the foil covering and an extra 30-40 mins or until your lamb is well browned. Remove the lamb and let it rest. Spoon over any juices to keep moist. The lamb remains warm for about an hour, so take that into consideration when you serve. As usual, I always serve my lamb with some buttered rice – why not!
**Joy Entry is a Malaysian home cook based in Lagos who is obsessed with the provocative, unapologetic flavours of Southeast Asian cuisine.
Instagram: @thatasianhomecook
Email: joyentry@gmail.com
