Marinated roast leg of lamb, braised pumpkin, root vegetables and mashed creamy peas

In New Zealand, roast lamb is often served with pumpkin or butternut squash. For this recipe, you can substitute your own choice of root vegetables in season to combine with the pumpkin.

5 October 2014, 9:05am

3 min read

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Ingredients

For the marinade

Juice and zest of 2 limes
2 kiwifruit, peeled
1 cup white wine
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp of fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
2 tbsp of fresh chopped rosemary (or 1 tbsp of dried rosemary)
1 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbs honey

Blend all the ingredients, except the lime zest and the honey, for a few seconds in a blender

For the lamb roast

1 leg of lamb
3-4 garlic cloves, sliced
Salt and pepper

For the braised vegetables

2 onions
4 large potatoes
1 celeriac
2 carrots
500g pumpkin or butternut squash
2 parsnips
1 bay leaf
Olive oil

For the mashed creamy peas

500g frozen peas
50ml natural yoghurt
50ml cream
5ml lemon juice
2 spring onions - sliced
bunch fresh mint – chopped

Gravy

1 glass red wine
2 tblsp redcurrant jelly
2 tblsp gravy granules

Method

Make a dozen small cuts on each side of the lamb with a short, sharp knife. Insert slices of garlic into the cuts. Then put the lamb in a large plastic bag, and cover liberally on both sides with the marinade. Putting the lamb in the bag first retains all the marinade, and is less messy to handle. Squeeze out the air, seal and refrigerate for several hours, turning occasionally to re-coat the marinade. Remove the lamb from the fridge 1 hour before cooking to bring the lamb closer to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 165°C. Arrange two racks in the oven - a middle rack to hold the lamb, and a lower rack to hold a roasting pan with which to catch the juices.
Remove the lamb roast from the plastic bag, saving any excess marinade. Dry the lamb with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper on both sides of the roast. When the oven is hot, put the lamb on the middle rack, fattiest side up. Put a cup of water in the roasting pan and position it under the lamb on the lower rack. The water will stop the fat burning as it drips into the pan.
Roast at 165°C for 20 minutes, then allow another 15-18 minutes per pound for rare to medium rare, 20-25 minutes per pound for medium to well done.
Note that the method of cooking directly on the oven rack will reduce the cooking time. If you have the luxury of a meat thermometer, remove the lamb at 60-65°C for rare to medium rare. Do not overcook, as lamb dries out very quickly.
Bring the excess marinade to the boil, then add the zest of the limes and the honey.
Once the lamb is in the oven, and the marinade has been prepared, peel and roughly cut the onions, pumpkin and all the root vegetables into large chunks (you can leave the potato skin on if you prefer), put in a bowl, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and the bay leaf, and stir well. After the lamb has been cooking for 20 minutes, put the vegetables into the roasting dish in the oven.
During cooking, turn the leg twice at 30 minute intervals, basting each time with the marinade. Give the vegetables a stir each time you baste the meat.
Once cooked, remove the meat and wrap the leg loosely in foil. Let it stand for 15-20 minutes before carving.
Move the braised vegetables to the upper rack, raise the oven temperature to 185°C and cook for a further 10-15 minutes.
While the meat is resting, boil the peas in salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and add the spring onions, cream, yoghurt, lemon juice and mint over a low heat. Mash together coarsely and keep warm.
If you want to serve a gravy with the meat, remove the braised vegetables and surplus liquid to a serving dish. Put the roasting tray on the hob, add a glass of red wine to lift the residue from the tray, add a couple of teaspoons of redcurrant jelly, and thicken with gravy granules.