Braised leg of lamb with mint, parsley & almond pesto
Prep
20 mins
Cook
4 hrs
Servings
6
Difficulty
Hard
This braised lamb is my go to dinner when I want something truly impressive but surprisingly simple to pull together. The meat becomes impossibly tender after four hours in the oven, falling apart at the gentlest touch, and honestly most of that time you're just letting it do its thing. What really makes it special is the vibrant mint, parsley and almond pesto stirred through at the end, which adds this lovely fresh brightness and a subtle nuttiness. Mint is wonderful for digestion too, so you're getting real nourishment alongside pure comfort food. The whole dish comes together beautifully with ingredients you probably already have at home, making it far less fussy than it looks when you bring it to the table.
Ella x
Ingredients
- 2 kiloswhole lamb leg
- ½ tbspsea salt flakes
- 250 mlsdry white wine
- 1 bulb/sgarlic bulbs(bulb garlic, halved horizontally)
- 6bay leaves
- 1½ pack/smint(leaves only)
- 25 gramsflat leaf fresh parsley( pack flat leaf parsley, leaves only)
- 175 mlsextra virgin olive oil
- 30 gramsblanched whole almonds(roughly chopped)
- 1unwaxed lemon(zest, juice of ½, more if needed)
- 20 gramsparmigiano reggiano(roughly chopped, plus extra finely grated (optional))
Detail level
Instructions
- 1
Put the lamb in a roasting tin or other ovenproof dish into which it fits fairly snugly. Rub the salt all over and set aside to let a little of the moisture draw out. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 240ºC, gas mark 9.
- 2
Roast the lamb for 20 minutes, so the meat is slightly burnished, then reduce the temperature to 150ºC, gas mark 2. Remove the roasting tin from the oven. Pour the wine and 350ml water into the hot tin and add the garlic and bay leaves. Carefully tent the tray with foil, then return to the oven for 3 hours 30 minutes.
- 3
At some point while the lamb is cooking, make the pesto in a food processor or blender. Pulse the picked herbs with 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the almonds, lemon zest and parmesan, plus a little more oil if needed, and blitz to give a coarse paste. Decant to a serving bowl, then stir in the remaining oil and the lemon juice, so you’re left with a loose, slick, green sauce. Taste and season with salt, more lemon juice or grated parmesan, if needed.
- 4
When the lamb is ready, transfer the joint to a platter and cover with the foil again for 20 minutes, while the rest of your meal comes together. The lamb should now be succulent and easy to carve or pull apart when you serve.
- 5
Once settled, skim some of the fat from the tray and transfer 3-4 ladlefuls of the lamb broth to a saucepan. Simmer and reduce for 10 minutes to make a gravy. Reserve the remainder as a stock or broth for another day. Serve with the rested lamb.
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