Roast leg of lamb with caper and lemon butter crust recipe
Celebrate new season lamb with this irresistible and fragrant roast recipe.
Tip: if you prefer, you can swap the aromatics in the butter crust. Try sage or thyme instead of rosemary; anchovies instead of capers; or fennel seeds instead of juniper berries.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg Maris Piper potatoes, cut into slices
- 0.5 celeriac, peeled and cut into slices
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 rosemary sprigs, leaves stripped
- 6 juniper berries
- 1 tbsp capers
- 100 g slightly salted butter, softened
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 2 kg leg of lamb, trimmed
- 450 g fresh lamb gravy, heated
Details
- Cuisine: British
- Recipe Type: Lamb
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 20 mins
- Cooking Time: 130 mins
- Serves: 8
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/gas mark 7.
- Season and toss the potatoes, celeriac and onion over the base of a large roasting tin. Pour over 100ml (3.4fl oz) water.
- Use a pestle and mortar to crush the garlic, rosemary, juniper and capers to a rough paste. Stir in the butter, lemon zest and plenty of black pepper.
- Pierce the lamb all over with a sharp knife and rub with the butter mixture. Sit the lamb on top of the potatoes, season with sea salt and roast for 20 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4.
- Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes, rotating the lamb halfway.
- When ready, lift the lamb off the potatoes and rest on a board loosely covered with foil.
- Increase the heat to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6.
- Baste the potatoes with any juices and return to the oven for 30 minutes while the lamb rests.
- Before serving, pour off and discard any excess fat from the potatoes. Serve with the sliced lamb, gravy and steamed greens, if you like.
This recipe is courtesy of Waitrose & Partners.
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