A slow-cooked juicy roast is the easiest thing in the world to cook and the most satisfying thing to serve.
Recipe by Vickie Crease
Photograph by Vanessa Lewis
Oven roasted leg of lamb yiouvetsi
Ingredients
- 2,5kg leg of lamb
- 50ml softened butter
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
- 750ml (3 cups) beef stock
- 2 litres boiling water
- 1 red pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
- 45ml (3 tbsp) tomato paste
- 2 x 500g packets orzo pasta
- fresh rosemary, to serve
- Parmesan, freshly grated, to serve
- sprig of bay leaves, to garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Place the leg of lamb in a large roasting pan, with enough space for the orzo pasta to be added later. Rub the lamb with the butter and garlic, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil.
Bake until the lamb is seared and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 180°C and cook for a further 1 hour, turning occasionally.
Add the stock, boiling water, red pepper, tomato paste and orzo to the roasting pan and stir to combine. Cook until the pasta is tender and the lamb is golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Serve the lamb with the orzo, topped with rosemary and Parmesan, garnished with a bay sprig.
Notes
I love to add roasted garlic heads to this platter – the smell while they’re roasting is incredible and it gives the dish a wonderful country feel. Preheat the oven to 180°C, slice the garlic head in half, drizzle with 30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil and roast until the garlic is soft, about 20 minutes.
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
