Spice-roast lamb with grape tzatziki

3 Apr

Written By Antony

We love lamb, especially a roast leg, either cooked long, slow and on the bone, or boned, rolled, tied and blasted at 200C. This is a very simple take on a fast roasted boneless leg but for the sake of all that’s cute, woolly and goes ‘baaa’ when you pat it, do not overcook your lamb. If you have a meat thermometer, you’re aiming for 65C in the thickest part of the roast for medium-rare-ish. If you're lo-fi, like us, you can check for doneness by inserting a fine wire cake tester in the middle of the thickest part instead, then hold it just under the top of your lower lip to feel how warm it is; you’re basically ‘reading’ the internal temperature of the lamb. The skewer should feel reasonably toasty but not super-hot; if it does, you’ve taken things too far. This is an old chef’s technique for testing meat doneness and when you’ve had experience using it, it’s actually a really useful technique. Once your lamb is cooked, cover it, then rest for a decent amount of time… 20-25 minutes isn’t overkill. This gives all the lovely juices time to chillax back into the flesh and keep things nice and lamby-lush.

SERVES 6

1½ tsp cumin seeds or ground cumin

½ tsp ground allspice

2½ tbsp pomegranate molasses

1½ tbsp honey

1½ tsp dried mint

1.25kg boneless rolled lamb leg

Grape tzatziki

250g green grapes*, sliced

small handful dill sprigs, chopped

475g (1½ cups) plain Greek-style yoghurt

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil

small handful dill sprigs, chopped

Preheat the oven to 220˚C. Line a baking dish with baking paper.

Using a mortar and pestle, crush the cumin seeds until a coarse powder forms. Combine with the pomegranate molasses, honey, dried mint and 1 tsp each sea salt and freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl and stir to mix well. Place the lamb leg in the baking dish, spoon the mixture over, then use the back of a spoon to spread it evenly-ish over. Roast the lamb for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200˚C and cook for another 45 minutes or until cooked through but still pink in the centre. Remove the lamb to a platter, cover loosely with foil, then stand for 20 minutes to rest.

Meanwhile, for the tzatziki, reserve a few sliced grapes and a bit of the dill to garnish. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl, and stir to mix well. Taste, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Scatter over the reserved grapes and dill, then serve with the sliced lamb and a leafy salad, roast potatoes... whatever you like.

*Use a grape that’s juicy but a bit crisp when you bite into it, not a squishy sort.