Roast Leg of Lamb with Honey Orange Glaze and Port and Mint Dressing with Boulangère Potatoes

This delicious Sunday roast takes very little effort and would be ideal for a family gathering over Easter. Shoulder of lamb, which is especially tender and sweet-flavoured and makes a lovely roast, could be used instead for a smaller group of about 6 people.

Serves 8-10

1 good-sized leg of lamb, trimmed
3 cloves garlic, sliced
Few sprigs of rosemary
2 onions, roughly chopped
1 head of garlic
2 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste
with some salt
The rind of 1 orange
2 tablesp. runny honey
2 tablesp olive oil
Glass of white wine

Port and Mint Dressing
4 tablesp. redcurrant jelly
Juice of 1 orange
Dash of port (or red wine)
Few sprigs of mint

Boulangère Potatoes to serve (see below)

Preheat the oven 200°C (400°F) Gas Mark 6.

Make about 10 incisions in the lamb with a sharp knife.  Push a sliver of garlic and a sprig of rosemary into each hole.  Place the lamb in a roasting tray with some chopped onions and a head of garlic cut in half.  Mix together the crushed garlic, orange rind, honey and olive oil.  Spread the mixture over the lamb.  Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes.  Then add the glass of wine and a glass of water, this will stop the honey from burning.  Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F) Gas Mark 4 and continue the cooking for another hour for pink lamb.  Rest for 15 minutes before serving.  

When the lamb is cooked to your liking, remove from the roasting tray and strain the juices, keep the garlic to serve with the lamb. Add another dash of wine and a tablespoon of redcurrant jelly to the juices.  Boil it up to make a jus, finish with a knob of butter and taste for seasoning.

To make the dressing, gently heat the redcurrant jelly, orange juice, port and mint.  Add a little lemon juice if you think it is too sweet.  Serve warm with the sliced lamb.

Boulangère Potatoes are very good with the roast lamb and can be cooked in the oven at the same time.  Simply layer some thinly sliced potatoes in a baking dish with thinly sliced onions which have first been sautéed in a knob of butter.  Add seasoning and a few more knobs of butter as you do the layers.  Finish off with some chicken stock and a sprinkling of grated cheese.  Bake for 40-50 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the topping is golden and crispy.