Cider Honey Roast Lamb Leg Food

ROAST LEG OF WELSH LAMB WITH GINGER, HONEY, CIDER AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Heat the oven 375°F/190°C.
• Cut the ginger into slivers.
• Using a sharp knife, make small cuts in the leg of lamb and insert the ginger and rosemary.
• Mix the butter and honey together and spread this over the lamb.
• Put in a roasting tin, pour in half of the cider and cover loosely with foil.
• Roast in the oven allowing 25 minutes per pound.
• When three-quarters cooked, remove the foil and continue cooking, basting frequently with the juices from the roasting tin, adding more cider if necessary.
• Remove the joint from the oven, lift out of the pan, removing any excess fat, and pour in the rest of the cider to deglaze the pan.
• Boil this up well, return the non-fatty juices and thicken with a little arrowroot if you wish.
• A well seasoned mixed mash of carrot, parsnip, turnip and potatoes tastes perfect with the roast leg of lamb.

CIDER & HONEY ROAST LAMB LEG

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220C/ Gas 7. Weigh the lamb and calculate the final cooking time at 12 minutes per 450g for medium rare, 15 minutes per 450g for medium.
• Score the fat around the leg of the lamb in a criss-cross pattern, drizzle with a little olive oil, then rub all over with salt and pepper. Place in a deep roasting pan and scatter the garlic and thyme over and around. Pour over the lemon juice and drizzle again with olive oil. Sprinkle with a little more seasoning, then roast in the hot oven for 20 minutes.
• Slice the apples into quarters and cut off the cores. Remove the lamb from the oven and reduce the heat to 180C/ Gas 4. Scatter the apples around the pan and baste the lamb with cider. Turn the lamb over and drizzle with 2 tbsp of honey. Return to the oven for 30 minutes.
• Turn the lamb, baste the meat with the pan juices, then drizzle over another teaspoon of honey. Continue to roast for the calculated time. To check it, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the lamb, then press the meat lightly; the redder the juices, the rarer the meat. Lift the lamb onto a carving board and cover with foil. Rest in a warm place.
• At this point, the roasting apples and garlic should be very soft. Press with a fork, then tip the contents of the pan into a sieve over a saucepan. Push with the back of a ladle to extract all the juices and flavour. Discard the pulp. Place the saucepan over a medium heat and add the stock. Boil and bubble until the sauce has thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then pour into a warm jug. Carve the lamb into thin slices and serve drizzled with the apples and cider gravy.

HONEY GLAZED ROAST LAMB WITH HONEY MINT SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350°F.
• Combine the flour, salt, pepper, cinnamon and rosemary and rub well into the lamb on all sides.
• Lay the onion and carrot in the bottom of the roasting tin and the lamb on top.
• Roast, allowing 25 to 30 minutes per 500g (1 lb 2oz) of weight, less for a pinker meat.
• Turn the joint halfway through to cook evenly.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce; warm the vinegar and honey until the honey has dissolved, then stir in the mint and leave to cool.
• About 30 minutes before the end of cooking time, carefully lift out the meat and strain off the fat from the roasting tin (leave the vegetables).
• Replace the meat, best side up.
• Spread with the honey, and add the cider to the pan.
• Return to the oven, increasing the heat to 375*F, and finish roasting, basting once or twice.
• Lift the joint and vegetables on to a hot serving platter.
• Blend the cornstarch with 1 TBS of cold water, add to the roasting tin and boil, stirring for a few minutes to make gravy.
• Strain into a hot sauceboat.
• Serve the lamb with the hot cider gravy and honey mint sauce.