Roast Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic

The English Sunday and Easter roast: a leg of lamb deeply studded with slivers of garlic and rosemary, roasted until the outside is burnished and the inside blushing pink, rested and carved, and served with rosemary gravy and mint sauce

Origin: England, United Kingdom

From the journey of Rosemary.

Roast leg of lamb is the centrepiece of the English Easter and Sunday table, and rosemary is its inseparable partner, the herb that has flavoured English lamb since the plant took root in the medieval garden. The classic method is the simplest: deep incisions cut all over the leg and each one plugged with a sliver of garlic and a tuft of rosemary, so the herb scents the meat to its heart as it roasts. Lamb and rosemary is one of the great fixed marriages of the English kitchen, set down beside mint sauce, redcurrant jelly, and roast potatoes as immovable Sunday law. The same herb that the English wear and scatter for remembrance is the one they push into the Sunday joint.

Ingredients

Lamb

2.2 kg leg of lamb, bone in
6 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
6 sprigs fresh rosemary, broken into small tufts, plus 2 tbsp leaves
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp flaky sea salt
0.5 tsp black pepper

Gravy

200 ml red wine or lamb stock
1 tbsp plain flour (optional, to thicken the gravy)

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan / 425°F). Pat the lamb dry. With a small sharp knife, make deep incisions all over the leg and push a sliver of garlic and a tuft of rosemary into each.
Mix the 2 tbsp rosemary leaves with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and rub all over the lamb.
Roast at the high heat for 20 minutes to brown, then lower the oven to 180°C (160°C fan / 350°F) and roast for about 50 to 55 minutes for pink lamb (around 55°C to 60°C internal temperature at the thickest point), or longer for more well done.
Lift the lamb onto a board, cover loosely with foil, and rest for 20 minutes. This rest is essential for juicy, carvable meat.
Make the gravy: pour off excess fat from the tin, set it over a low heat, sprinkle in the flour if using and cook for a minute, then pour in the wine or stock and simmer, scraping up the caramelised bits, into a glossy rosemary gravy.
Carve the lamb and serve with the gravy, mint sauce, roast potatoes, and seasonal greens.

Notes

A bone-in leg gives the best flavour, but a boned and rolled leg is easier to carve and takes slightly less time. The same rosemary-and-garlic treatment is superb on a shoulder, slow-roasted for several hours at a lower temperature until it pulls apart. For a Greek or Provençal accent, add lemon and oregano or anchovy to the studding; for the classic English roast, keep it to rosemary and garlic.

The Gastrographer

Name: Roast Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: United Kingdom
Ingredients: 2.2 kg leg of lamb, bone in; 6 cloves garlic, cut into slivers; 6 sprigs fresh rosemary, broken into small tufts, plus 2 tbsp leaves; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp flaky sea salt; 0.5 tsp black pepper; 200 ml red wine or lamb stock; 1 tbsp plain flour (optional, to thicken the gravy)

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control