Central Otago Wild Thyme Roast Lamb

A New Zealand dish born of an accident of history: a leg of lamb studded with garlic and roasted under a thick mantle of wild thyme, the herb that escaped a gold miner's garden in the 1860s and now covers the schist hills of Central Otago, glazed at the end with the region's dark wild thyme honey

Origin: Central Otago, New Zealand

From the journey of Thyme.

In the 1860s a French gold miner, Jean Désiré Féraud, planted thyme in his garden at Clyde in Central Otago. The herb escaped, found the dry, frost-bitten, sunbaked schist country much like its native Mediterranean garrigue, and being unpalatable to sheep and rabbits, spread until it now clothes thousands of hectares of the Otago hills in a lilac haze each summer. It made New Zealand one of only two countries outside Europe where thyme grows wild across the open land. The same hills raise some of the world's finest lamb, and the marriage of the two is a genuine taste of place: lamb roasted under a blanket of the wild thyme that grows where it grazed, finished with the dark, herbal wild thyme honey that Otago's bees make from the very same flowers. It is a young nation's dish with an old herb at its heart.

Ingredients

Lamb

2.2 kg leg of lamb, bone in
6 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
1 large bunch fresh thyme (wild thyme if you can find it), plus 3 tbsp leaves
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp flaky sea salt
0.5 tsp black pepper

Glaze

2 tbsp wild thyme honey (or other strong, dark honey)

Gravy

250 ml lamb or chicken stock
150 ml red wine (a Central Otago Pinot Noir is fitting)

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan / 425°F). Pat the lamb dry. Using the tip of a small sharp knife, make deep incisions all over the leg and push a sliver of garlic and a few thyme leaves into each.
Mix the 3 tbsp thyme leaves with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and rub the mixture all over the lamb. Lay half the bunch of thyme in a roasting tin, set the lamb on top, and cover it with the remaining thyme.
Roast at the high heat for 20 minutes to brown the surface, then lower the oven to 180°C (160°C fan / 350°F) and roast for about 1 hour for pink, juicy lamb (around 55°C to 60°C internal temperature), or longer if you prefer it more well done.
For the last 10 minutes, brush the lamb with the wild thyme honey to glaze, returning it to the oven until lightly lacquered and glossy.
Lift the lamb onto a board, cover loosely with foil, and rest for 20 minutes. Set the roasting tin over a low heat, pour in the wine and stock, and simmer, scraping up the juices, until you have a light, thyme-scented gravy.
Carve the lamb and serve with the gravy, roast potatoes, and seasonal greens.

Notes

Wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum or naturalised Thymus vulgaris) has a slightly more delicate, spreading habit than cultivated thyme but the same warm fragrance; ordinary garden thyme works perfectly well if wild is unavailable. Central Otago wild thyme honey is dark and intensely herbal; any strong, dark honey such as a good buckwheat or chestnut honey will stand in. The dish suits a shoulder of lamb too, slow-roasted for longer at a lower temperature until it pulls apart.

The Gastrographer

Name: Central Otago Wild Thyme Roast Lamb
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: New Zealand
Ingredients: 2.2 kg leg of lamb, bone in; 6 cloves garlic, cut into slivers; 1 large bunch fresh thyme (wild thyme if you can find it), plus 3 tbsp leaves; 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp flaky sea salt; 0.5 tsp black pepper; 2 tbsp wild thyme honey (or other strong, dark honey); 250 ml lamb or chicken stock; 150 ml red wine (a Central Otago Pinot Noir is fitting)

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control