Monday, August 27, 2018

Lamb with Garlic, Anchovy and Rosemary

We had another favourite, roast lamb, and this might be an alternative main course for some of you for Christmas dinner. We have sold anchovies and now anchovy paste, for many years and we have often been told how delicious they can be as a marinade for lamb – most often from Italy - so Lynne decided to try it. Be assured, it does NOT have a fishy taste at all, just a very deep savoury flavour, and with the large amount of garlic and rosemary, you end up with a really lovely jus. It went very well with a bottle of Morgenhof Cabernet sauvignon Reserve 2001
2 to 2.5 kilo leg of lamb – 9 anchovies or one tube of anchovy paste – 6 garlic cloves, crushed – 2.5 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, chopped - ¼ cup of olive oil – sea salt – freshly ground black pepper – bottle of semi sweet wine (we used Robertson Beaukett)
Turn your oven to 200°C. In a pestle and mortar, crush the anchovies with the garlic and the rosemary till you have a good rough paste. Moisten with the olive oil and then season. Cut several 4 cm slashes in the surface of the lamb and then rub the paste all over it
Place the lamb on a grid in a roasting tray, pour a little water into the base of the pan and put it on the centre shelf of the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Then pour over 100ml white wine and baste the lamb. Reduce the heat to 180°C and leave the lamb to cook for 1½ to 2 hours (dependent on its weight and how well you like it cooked). Baste the lamb regularly with a little more of the wine and the juices in the bottom of the pan and do add a little water to the pan if it becomes dry. Remove the lamb from the oven, cover with foil and rest for 15 minutes. Pour off as much of the fat in the bottom of the pan as you can, then deglaze it and use the juices mixed with corn flour, more wine and water to make a really good gravy
Lynne served this with crisp duck fat roast potatoes, baby peas and roasted butternut with nutmeg

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