Roast Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic

Roast Leg of Lamb

Easter is approaching and one of my favourite meals for Easter Sunday is a nice roasted leg of Spring Lamb, studded with Garlic and Rosemary.

Serves 6-8 Gluten Free*

Ingredients

• 1 leg of lamb, weighing about 1.8 kg (4 lb)
• 3 large cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced lengthways into about 24 slivers
• 2 large stems fresh rosemary, cut into about 24 small sprigs
• 1 large brown onion, peeled
• salt and freshly milled black pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC /gas mark 5/375ºF.
2. Begin by making about 24 small, deep cuts in the skin of the lamb using a small, sharp knife. 
3. Then push a sliver of garlic, followed by a small sprig of rosemary, into each cut.
4. Season the meat generously with salt and freshly milled black pepper.
5. Next, cut the onion in half and place it in the bottom of the roasting tin, then place the lamb in the tin sitting on top of the onion halves. 
6. Cover the tin loosely with foil, then cook in the oven on a high shelf for 1½ hours. 
7. After this, remove the foil and let it continue to roast for another 30 minutes. 
8. Remove the lamb from the oven, cover loosely with foil again and allow to rest for about 20 minutes.

Carve and serve with some crunchy roasted potatoes, roasted beetroot, steamed spring greens and a gravy made from the meat juices.

Follow this link to see a short video guide on craving a Roast Leg Of Lamb

*Gluten Free – Although I make every effort to ensure that the ingredients list are gluten free, you should double check at the time of using as products change their base ingredients frequently.

Easter Simnel Cake

Simnel Cake
Image: bbc.co.uk/food

Simnel cake is a light fruit cake which is covered in Marzipan and toasted. It’s normally eaten on the middle Sunday of lent and it’s been around since the Middle Ages. More recently it was traditionally given by Victorian servant girls to their mothers when they returned home on Mothering Sunday.

Normally eleven, or more occasionally twelve, marzipan balls are used to decorate the cake, as the balls are supposedly meant to represent the twelve apostles, minus Judas or Jesus and the twelve apostles, minus Judas.

Serves: 11

Ingredients

For the cake

• 100g glacé cherries
• 225g butter, softened
• 225g light muscovado sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 225g self-raising flour
• 225g sultanas
• 100g currants
• 50g chopped candied peel
• 2 lemons, grated zest only
• 2 tsp ground mixed spice

For the filling and topping

• 500g marzipan
• 2 tbsp apricot jam, warmed

Method

Preheat the oven to 150C/280F/Gas 2.
Grease and line a 20cm/ 8in cake tin with baking parchment.

1. Cut the cherries into quarters, put in a sieve and rinse under running water. Drain well then dry thoroughly on kitchen paper.
2. Place the cherries in a bowl with the butter, sugar, eggs, self-raising flour, sultanas, currants, candied peel, lemon zest and mixed spice and beat well until thoroughly mixed.
3. Pour half the mixture into the prepared tin.
4. Take one-third of the marzipan and roll it out to a circle the size of the tin and then place on top of the cake mixture. 
5. Spoon the remaining cake mixture on top and level the surface.
6. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 2½ hours, or until well risen, evenly brown and firm to the touch. Covering with aluminium foil after one hour if the top is browning too quickly. 
7. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out, peel off the lining parchment and finish cooling on a wire rack.
8. When the cake is cool, brush the top with a little warmed apricot jam and roll out half the remaining marzipan to fit the top. Press firmly on the top and crimp the edges to decorate. 
9. Mark a criss-cross pattern on the marzipan with a sharp knife. 
10. Form the remaining marzipan into 11 (or 12) balls.
11. Brush the marzipan with beaten egg and arrange the marzipan balls around the edge of the cake. 
12. Brush the tops of the balls with beaten egg and then carefully place the cake under a preheated hot grill for a few moments to lightly toast.

Decorate further with candied fruit and flowers is you wish, slice and serve.