Roast leg of lamb with potatoes, pecorino, basil and garlic recipe

This came about after I cooked a Greek dish that had a stuffing made from a Greek cheese. I’d never thought about a cheese stuffing for lamb before, but this just came out of my kitchen for Sunday lunch one week: Italian ingredients, Greek-inspired.

Timings

Prep time: 30 minutes, plus 15 minutes resting time

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves

6-8

Ingredients

• 120g pecorino cheese, finely grated
• 6 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
• leaves from 1 small bunch of basil, plus extra to serve (optional)
• 1.8kg leg of lamb
• 2 medium red onions, cut into wedges
• 600g small waxy potatoes, scrubbed, then halved or quartered, depending on size
• 350g red and yellow tomatoes, halved or quartered
• 250ml white wine

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 230C/220C fan/gas mark 8.
2. Put the cheese, garlic and some salt into a mortar and pound to a rough purée, gradually adding the olive oil. Tear the basil leaves, add them to the mortar and pound them.
3. Place the leg of lamb into a roasting tin.
4. Make deep incisions all over the lamb and push the paste from the mortar down into the cuts. You can also loosen the meat around the bone to make a pocket and push the paste into that, too. Season all over and put into the oven.
5. Roast for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 190C/180C fan/gas mark 5.
6. Add the onions, potatoes and tomatoes to the roasting tin.
7. Toss them in the fat in the tin, adding a little more oil if it is needed to coat them. Season and roast for a further 45 minutes, adding the wine after 20 minutes.
8. The lamb will be pink, so if you prefer the meat more well done, cook it for a little longer.
9. Remove the lamb to a plate, cover with foil, and insulate well – I use old towels or tea towels – then leave to rest for 15 minutes.
10. If the potatoes are tender, cover them and keep warm in a low oven while the lamb is resting. If they are still a bit firm, increase the oven temperature to 210C/200C fan/gas mark 6½, and return the potatoes and other vegetables to the oven, uncovered. Cook until they’re ready.
11. Serve the lamb with the potatoes, tomatoes and onions, scattered with a few basil leaves, if you like.