Lamb and rosemary roasted leg of lamb

Ingredients: 

Serves 8

3 kg bone-in leg of lamb – Ask your butcher to remove the femur bone and any hip bone that may be attached leaving just the shank and hock. Alternatively you can ask to butterfly it and remove all bones. If you are not comfortable with either of those options, you can leave the bone in, it will just take longer to cook and carving it may be a little more tricky.

Marinade: 
10 cloves garlic, crushed in a mortar and pestle, or microplaned 
4-5 sprigs /1.5 Tbls  rosemary, leaves picked, roughly chopped  
1 Tbls. Dried oregano 
2 lemon, zest  
1 lemon, juice 
1 tsp. smoked paprika 
1 Tbls. Tomato paste 
2 Tbls. Extra virgin olive oil 
LOTS of black pepper (20 cracks for those who need to quantify LOTS) 
¼ cup chicken stock 

Method: 

Season your lamb leg generously with salt, a few hours in advance. 

Preheat your oven to 240C conventional (220C fan forced).

To make the marinade, combine the minced garlic, rosemary, oregano, zest, juice, paprika, tomato paste, oil and pepper in a small bowl and stir to mix. . 

Rub the marinade all over the seasoned lamb leg, including on the interior if you have butterflied it. Reserve a bit of marinade to pour over the top on the roasting tray.

Tie up the lamb tightly with a few long pieces of kitchen string about 4-6cm apart. The aim of this is just to keep the lamb held together so it cooks evenly. Allow the lamb to come to room temperature before roasting which will take anywhere from 1-2 hours. You can lightly cover it with baking paper and a cloth or tea towel and leave it at room temp on your bench with the marinade on it.

When ready to roast, place the lamb on the tray and pour any remaining marinade over the top. Add the chicken stock to the roasting tray around the lamb. 

Place the roasting tray in the centre of the oven and roast at 240C for the first 15 minutes, then drop down to 180C until the internal temperature, tested at the thickest piece is around 55C for medium, about 45 minutes. Allow to rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving with all the pan drippings.