You need a bit of patience for this one but when the meat just falls off the bone then you know it’s worth waiting for.
Ingredients – serves 6
1 large leg of lamb
4 fat cloves of garlic
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1cm rings
2 celery stalks with leaves, roughly chopped.
400g tinned tomatoes
1 litre good quality red wine
1 litre water
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 large waxy potatoes, peeled and halved
Method:
Preheat the oven to 140°c, 280°f, gas mark 1.
Peel the garlic and slice into 4mm slices. Cut the rosemary into 2 inch long pieces. Using a sharp knife or boning knife, make deep incisions into the leg at regular intervals, then push in a piece of the garlic and rosemary.
Take a large roasting dish and place the carrot and celery in the bottom, then place the lamb on top. In a bowl, mix together the wine and tomatoes, then pour over the lamb and stir the vegetables through. Pour the water into the bottom of the dish. Drizzle the lamb with the olive oil and season. Cover the dish with foil, then place in the oven.
After 1.5 hours, remove the foil and baste the meat. If the sauce is looking a little dry, add more water. Add the potatoes, drizzle with oil, season then re-cover.
Continue cooking for a further 1.5 hours, basting every 30 minutes until the meat is tender. Remove the meat from the oven and reserve the sauce, then cover and leave to rest.
Increase the heat to 200°c/425°f, gas mark 6 for a further 30 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through.
To serve, arrange the meat and potatoes on a serving dish and spoon over the reserved sauce.