The Great British Roast: Boneless Leg of Lamb

roast lamb

Photo by Jax House.

It’s hard to beat a traditional British roast dinner on Sunday. Whether it’s beef with Yorkshire pudding and horseradish, chicken with sage and onion stuffing, or perhaps pork with apple sauce, the Sunday roast is perfection on a plate. And let’s not forget roast lamb with a dash of mint sauce.

But roast lamb doesn’t have to be reserved for Sunday lunch. It makes a nutritious dinner and day of the week. For this recipe, we used a boneless leg of Scotch lamb and served it topped with wilted spinach and leeks.

Boneless Leg of Roast Lamb and Wilted Greens 

Serves 2 but with plenty of leftovers for dinner the next day.

roast lamb

Medium-rare and ready to serve.

boneless lamb (2 lb)

2 cloves garlic

 

olive oil

salt and pepper

sprigs of fresh rosemary

2 cups spinach or cabbage

1 large leek, sliced

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 8 or 230C.

Crush the garlic and mix with a little olive oil, and pepper. Keep the netting around the lamb, or use kitchen twine to keep the joint held together. Rub the garlic-oil mix into the lamb.

Put the lamb in a roasting tin and place a few rosemary sprigs on top. Cook for 15 minutes. Then turn oven down to Gas Mark 3 or 165C to complete the cooking. For a small joint of lamb, one hour total may be enough cooking time, depending upon your tastes. Use a meat thermometer to ensure your meat is rare, medium, or well-done to suit your preference. For medium-rare, the thermometer should read about 55C. For well-done, cook until the internal temperature is about 70C.

Take the meat from the oven and let the meat rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a frying pan and heat the sliced leek until softened. Add the spinach or cabbage and cook for a few minutes more until the greens have wilted but still have their colour.

If you like, pour the juices from the roasting tin into a small pan and heat with a little stock or red wine. This can be spooned over the plate before serving.

To serve, place a few slices of lamb on a plate. Top with the greens and juices. Add some small roasted potatoes.

roast lamb