You can't beat a leg of lamb when it's cooked to perfection.
This is the easiest dish to prepare in advance – pop it into the oven and 4 hours later you have a wonderfully soft shredded lamb. Juicy tomatoes make a glorious, rich sauce to pour over the slow roasted lamb leg when serving.
Recipe courtesy of the food dept. (Recipe Sally Courtney, Art direction Anne Marie Cummins, Photography Brett Stevens, Styling Justine Poole)
PREP TIME: 10 mins COOK TIME: 5 hours SERVES: 4-6
INGREDIENTS:
1 x 2kg leg lamb
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt flakes and black pepper, to taste
375ml verjuice
1kg seasonal, vine-ripened tomatoes, halved
1 bulb garlic, broken into cloves
½ bunch thyme
2 rosemary sprigs
1 sprig fresh bay leaves
extra, olive oil, for drizzling
METHOD:
1. Preheat oven to 150C. Place lamb into a deep baking dish.
2. Combine tomato paste, garlic, olive oil, salt flakes and black pepper in a small bowl, brush over the lamb. Pour verjuice around lamb.
3. Place a piece of baking paper over lamb and cover with a double layer of foil, seal well to keep in the juices. Roast for 4 hours.
4. Remove foil and baking paper and arrange tomatoes cut side up around lamb in baking dish. Sprinkle over garlic cloves, herbs, drizzle with olive oil and season.
5. Return to oven uncovered and continue to bake for 1 hour or until tomatoes have roasted and lamb is literally falling off the bone.
6. Pull the lamb from the bone and serve with the roast tomatoes and pan juices.