A piece of salt marsh lamb, a glut of King Edwards, and a cool wind blowing the September leaves…
Serves 4–6
1 leg of lamb (1.5-2 kg), bone in or part boned
2 large sprigs rosemary, broken into small shards
2 sprigs herb lavender
4 cloves garlic, peeled and slivered
2 tablespoons olive oil
25g unsalted butter
1 kg potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
2 medium onions, peeled and very thinly sliced
100ml stock or water
1 x 400g tin flageolot beans, drained & rinsed (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1–2 glasses of whatever wine you are drinking
An extra knob of cold butter
1. Pre-heat the over to 220˚C or gas mark 8.
2. Dry off the leg of lamb. Make small incisions all over it with the tip of a knife. Insert the shards of rosemary and the slivers of garlic into the incisions. Rub 1 tablespoon of the olive oil onto the leg and season generously with salt and pepper. Dot the butter evenly over the surface.
3. Put the lamb in a large roasting tray and pop in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile mix the potatoes and the onions in a bowl with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper and any bits of garlic and rosemary that are left plus the sprigs of lavender, torn roughly.
5. After 30 minutes remove the lamb from the oven and place on a plate. Pour the potato and onion mixture into the roasting tin and add the 100ml stock or water. Place back in the oven. Put the leg of lamb directly onto the rack above the spuds — the drip, drip effect will give you glorious potatoes.
6. Give it another 4o–50 minutes.
7. Remove lamb from oven and set aside to rest for 15–20 minutes.
8. Meanwhile if the spuds need a bit more browning, leave them in the oven for another 5–10 minutes.
9. When they’re ready, remove them to a serving plate with a slotted spoon, keeping as much goo in the pan as possible. Deglaze with a glass of wine and let it bubble away, scraping down the sides until it’s looking thick and smelling good. Add the (optional) tin of flageolot beans and the knob of cold butter and heat through.
10. Serve.
