Marinated Lamb Leg Romanesco Pickled Walnuts Food

MARINATED LAMB LEG, ROMANESCO & PICKLED WALNUTS

Steps:

• The night before, trim the fat from the lamb then mix with the yogurt and rosemary leaves. Cover and put in the fridge to marinate overnight.
• The next day, trim the stalk off a romanesco so that it sits upright on a board. Slice 5cm off each side with a bread knife (keep these off-cuts to make the couscous). Slice the rest of the romanesco into three thick slices. Repeat with the other romanesco. Oil a large, non-stick baking tray with 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Lay the romanesco slices in a single layer and drizzle with a little more vegetable oil. Season with salt and scatter over the rosemary stalks, ready to roast.
• Finely chop or pulse the romanesco off-cuts in a food processor until they are the texture of couscous. Mix the finely chopped walnuts into the couscous with the olive oil, and season with salt.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Wipe the marinade off the lamb and season with sea salt. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil a large ovenproof frying pan. Fry the lamb until golden all over, then roast in the oven for 8-12 mins, depending on how rare you like it. Put the romanesco in the oven at the same time. Once the lamb is ready, remove from the oven, flip the romanesco slices over so they char on both sides, and cook for a further 10 mins. Cover and rest the lamb in the pan for 10 mins.
• Meanwhile, simmer the stock in a wide saucepan with 1 tbsp of the walnut pickling vinegar from the jar for 10 mins until it forms a jus.
• Slice the lamb and serve with the romanesco slices, some couscous, half a walnut and the jus.

MARINATED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Cut off as much fat as possible from the leg. Put onion, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, sugar and salt into saucepan, pour vinegar and water over them and bring to the boil. Let simmer 1 minute and set aside to cool. Put lamb into saucepan or pot into which it fits snugly, and pour lukewarm marinade over it. When cool refrigerate and turn the leg several times during the next 24 hours. The next day, remove leg from marinade and insert slivered garlic into the meat. Rub with salt and pepper, place in roasting pan and roast at 400 degrees until lamb is just browned (about 10 to 15 minutes). Add marinade ingredients, baste with marinade and reduce heat to 350 degrees. Roast for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, continuing to baste, until leg is done. A half an hour before roasting is finished, add the pitted, marinated plums or mushrooms with a few tablespoons of their liquid and baste. Serve with the sauce from the pan and white rice.
• Wash and thoroughly dry plums. Prick all over with a sharp needles and place in a deep enamel or glass dish. Blend vinegar, sugar and spices in another enamel saucepan and bring to the boil. Then pour this mixture evenly over the plums. Let stand another day and the next day repeat this procedure. On the following day, pour plums and marinade into glass jars so that plums are completely covered by liquid.

DELICIOUS SIMPLE MARINADE FOR ROAST LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Mix together all the ingredients. Taste and make adjustments to seasoning according to taste.
• Using a sharp knife, make several small slits into the leg of lamb to allow marinade to penetrate. Thoroughly baste the leg of lamb in the marinade.
• Place the lamb, along with the marinade, in a dish big enough to hold the meat. Pour the remaining marinade over it, and place in the refrigerator.
• Allow to marinate overnight, turning once. Baste meat once more before putting into the oven to roast.
• Enjoy!