Roast Leg Of Lamb With Orange, Rosemary And Garlic - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 leg of lamb
1 unwaxed orange
1 bulb of garlic
1 large handful of fresh rosemary sprig
1 large glug olive oil
200 ml water
200 ml orange juice
200 ml red wine
1 lamb stock cube
salt, to season

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 450\u00b0F.
Rinse the lamb and pat dry with kitchen towels.
Peel the orange layer of rind from the orange, into strips about 2cm by 1cm.
Cut a few of the garlic cloves lengthways into batons about 2mm across.
Take a strip of orange peel, wrap it around a couple of the garlic batons and a few rosemary leaves. With a very sharp knife, make a deep whole in the lamb and push the parcel into the meat, deep enough so that you can't see it. (Don't be afraid here - the deeper it goes, the more the flavours will infuse).
Repeat all over the lamb until you've used all the orange peel. Don't forget the underneath.
Allow to rest for about an hour.
With the flat of a knife, bash the remaining garlic cloves (unpeeled) and place them in the bottom of a roasting tray. Lay the remaining rosemary sprigs on top, then lay the lamb on these.
Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juices and flesh over the lamb, rubbing it in, and add the extra orange juice to the pan.
Pour over a good glug of olive oil, and season well with salt.
Place, uncovered, in the oven and cook for 20mins.
Reduce the temperature to about 350F and put a temperature probe into the thickest part of the lamb.
Check occasionally and, if required, add a little water to the pan.
Once the internal temperature reaches 130F, remove the lamb from the oven, put on a warmed plate and cover well, with foil and *plenty* of tea towels. Set aside.
Put the roasting tray on the hob, over a medium heat, and add the red wine and stock cube. You may need to add more water here, depending on how much has evaporated in the oven.
Reduce until thickened to a gravy consistency. Serve over your lamb, accompanied with roast potatoes and mint sauce.