Did I tell you I absolutely love lamb?
No really…lamb and beef are two of my favorite meat in this world.
Although I do enjoy eating chicken too and pork, and venison every once in a while. Okay I’m just a freakin meat eater and I’m NOT ashame to admit it!
Why should I?
I guess the point I’m trying to make is that if you really want to enjoy meat to it’s full potential, then you’ve got to know what you’re doing to bring out the best flavors.
Like Gordon Ramsay once said, it’s all about respecting the food…
….plus a touch of olive oil!
(Sorry…just couldn’t help myself)
But say a lamb leg for example.
Even though it’s not the most expensive cut in the word. In fact, it is quite cheap compare to other parts of the sheep. But once a lamb leg is overcooked, it can be quite tough to eat and I don’t care how you cook it or what you marinade it with.
That’s why I prefer to roast it if I ever buy a whole chunk. A roasted lamb leg with a mix of spices, rosemary, garlic, giving it an aromatic fragrance while not overpowering it’s natural flavours. And when it’s cooked to perfection, the tenderness of the meat, the juicy and succulent pink flesh OMG!
I’m honestly drooling just think about it….again.
Oh yes, I’ve already tasted it the other day and the result turned out exactly how I just described it too….I’m telling ya.
Here’s my recipe if you want to try it out yourself:
Aromatic Spice Roast Lamb Leg With Mixed Vegetables
Notes
Cooking time may vary
As you probably know this already, every oven is different so your cooking time may be different to mine, although it shouldn't be that far off. So adjust accordingly depending on how well cooked you like you meats to be.
What type of roasting tray did I use?
I used a large stainless steel one which you can get from ANYWHERE. These things last a life time and are excellent for all different types of roast dishes. Highly recommended.
Do you need a mortar and pestle for this dish?
Preferably because you'll want to give the spices a good whack to bring out the best flavours. If you don't have one, you can just place the mix into a sandwich bag and hit it with a rolling pin or something. I mean, it's not a must although I do recommend that every kitchen has one.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- Lamb Leg - 1kg
- Potatoes - 3 qty (medium size)
- Carrots - 3 pcs
- Corns - 3 pcs
Lamb Marinade
- Garlic - 2 gloves
- Fresh Rosemary - 2 sprigs
- Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp
- Fennel Seeds - 2 tsp
- Tumeric Powder - 1 tsp
- Paprika Powder - 1 tsp
- Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 2 tbsp
Tray Marinade
- Brown Onion - 1 qty (cut into wedges)
- Garlic - 1 bulb (separate, unpeeled)
- Fresh Rosemary - 4 sprigs
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 3 tbsp
- Salt
- Black Pepper
Instructions
To prepare the meat - Use a knife and plug several holes into the lamb leg (1kg) as shown in the picture below.
Remove leaves from fresh rosemary (2 sprigs) and cut garlic (2 gloves) into small pieces as shown in the picture below.
First, stuff the garlic pieces (prepared in step 2) into the holes of the lamb and then follow by the rosemary leaves (prepared in step 2) as shown in the photo below.
Place the rest of the lamb marinade (except the olive oil) into a mortar and pestle. Gently stump and grind a few times and then place the spice mix into a tray. The tray should be large enough to hold and marinade the meat.
Drizzle and rub the leg of lamb with olive oil (2 tbsp) and then start rubbing the spice mix thoroughly onto the lamb. Cover, place in the fridge and allow to marinade for at least 2 hours.
Once 2 hours is up, remove from fridge and allow meat to rest in room temperature for at least 1/2 hour. Now preheat the oven to 190C / 375F and you can start prepping the veggies.
To prepare the vegetables - Cut medium sized potatoes (3 qty), carrots (3 pcs) and sweet corns (3 pcs) into desired sizes (mines are approx. 5cm thickness) and place all into a roasting tray.
Add the rest of the tray marinade in and mix thoroughly
To cook the dish - Place marinaded lamb leg on top of the vegetables, stick the whole tray into the preheated oven and allow to cook for 55 mins.
Once time is up, remove from oven and let rest for at least 15 mins. Your roasted lamb leg with mixed vegetables is now ready to serve. Enjoy!
So how did you like my recipe?
And did you notice anything different with this than some of my other ones?
Well…I certainly hope so because I spent some extra time taking photos on the different steps which I thought will make the process much clearer for you guys.
It actually looks quite nice and clear if you asked me. I guess when they said a picture is worth a thousand words…well, it’s true in this scenario.
But if you didn’t notice it, then I guess I’m not gonna do it again…simple!
Now for those of you who loves lamb like I do, i strongly believe that you’ll know how this dish will taste from just looking at the recipe. The cumin seeds along with the rosemary, they are the perfect match with lamb. The fact that I added other spices and the fennel seeds really took it to another level.
Absolutely delicious I tell you….so you really owe it to yourself not to give this tasty combination a go.
And for those of you who don’t eat lamb often, this is truly a dish that you’ll want to get your tongue on. Trust me…and it was actually very quick and easy to make. The only part that you may find a little weird is to stick a knife into the flesh and make those holes.
This is a much needed step to ensure the meat inside gets the full flavors from the rosemary and garlic. What I did was just stick the knife in, twist it a few time to ensure the stuffing will stay inside. The rest is pretty self self explanatory.
So what are you waiting for?
If you want good food my friend, then it’s time to get your hands dirty!
Until next time…
