Slow-roasted paper-wrapped leg of lamb

Slow-roasted paper-wrapped leg of lamb

Baking paper stops the lamb from drying out and seals in the beautiful aromatics, says chef Maria Elia

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 3 hrs

plus marinating

Method

  1. Trim the excess fat off the lamb and put the leg on 2 large sheets of baking paper. Make incisions all over with a small sharp knife and push in the garlic slices.
  2. Mix 50ml olive oil with the lemon juice and drizzle over the lamb, then season with sea salt and rub with the remaining herbs and spices.
  3. Cover with another piece of paper and fold the bottom pieces over the top piece to form a tight parcel. Secure with string. Marinate in the fridge overnight or for at least an hour. Remove from fridge and leave to come up to temperature while the oven heats to 150C/fan 130C/gas 3.
  4. Put the lamb in a roasting tin with the end of the leg slightly elevated to stop any juices running out (just rest it on the edge of the tin). Bake for 3 hours.
  5. Remove from the oven and rest for 30 minutes before unwrapping, carving and serving with the cooking juices.

Per serving

603 kcalories, protein 71.6g, carbohydrate 1.9g, fat 34.3 g, saturated fat 14g, fibre 0.3g, salt 0.5 g

Recipe from olive magazine, April 2010.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • 2010-08-08 22:06:47.294953

    MrsWife commented on this recipe

    Yummy - this was so delicious. The long slow cooking meant that it just fell off the bone. It was so easy to do and could be just ignored in the oven. Thats my kind of cooking on a sunday. Also did the lemon roast potatoes (without capers) and the spinach dish - equally delicious. Husband not a fan of spinach and even he ate it all!

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  • 2010-08-29 09:51:59.751042

    E.M.H commented on this recipe

    absolutely fantastic, very moist and yummy!

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  • 2010-08-29 09:53:55.575211

    E.M.H rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    forgot to add rating! this is a top one for me and we're going to have it again this sunday, so easy to prepare with no fuss!

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  • 2010-12-29 11:04:43.956489

    Najarah rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    1st roastlamb ever done. Made this for husbands 40th birthday. Didn't have lemons so mixed oil with 2 tbsps red wine vinegar. It was absolutely delicious. So tender. The gravy is best ever tasted, just needed a little cornflour to thicken. Served with Dauphinois potatoes and roast carrots & parsnips.

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  • 2011-02-08 13:13:50.390606

    poacher commented on this recipe

    Quick and easy and oh so gorgeous, the photo on site does this treat no justice, I will always prep lamb this way absolutely "sock knocking off" stuff. Top Tip, make sure the paper forms a "basin" to catch the lovely juices ie: no folds, scrunched up bits at the bottom for them to seep out of, string straight off the stationary shelf does the job well, don't go for the labelled catering string what a rip off. Will make again very soon.

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  • 2011-04-08 10:48:39.488908

    abster rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Great dish. I made it with the recommended sides for friends and I loved it. I hate doing a 'normal' sunday toast, as I am not very good witht he various timings for all the veg, but this menu was fabulous. Will make again.

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  • 2011-04-23 15:26:57.54238

    magsk44 commented on this recipe

    Can anyone tell me how the lamb was cooked after three hours? Was it still quite rare???

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  • 2011-07-23 19:03:35.171213

    Najarah commented on this recipe

    No it was cooked through. As my initial comment said delicious.

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  • 2011-08-14 11:53:24.460524

    DaisyMay rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Lovely, although I will probably cook for less time to get a pinker finish next time.

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  • 2012-01-01 02:32:54.617428

    tash commented on this recipe

    Mine was also still a bit pink and didn't fall off the bone. Had to put it back in the oven for extra half hour. Think 130 for fan might have been too low! Lovely flavours though.

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  • 2012-01-24 14:20:14.894921

    lemon_farmer rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    This was dreadful... thankfully it was obviously going to be underdone at that temperature, so I upped it to 160, but the garlic was overpowering, 6 cloves is far, far too much and putting it in the meat itself stopped it from cooking properly, repeated on us all night... it would be better, much better minced and included in the marinade mix instead - half as much at least. The gravy was lovely, but too thin and needed to be thickened up properly. Yes, it's moist, but that and the gravy were the only saving graces, this is a good way to waste an expensive joint. 7 hour lamb is far superior.

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  • 2012-12-10 18:22:21.540125

    Photo die rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    When the joint comes out, the paper is full of thin liquid. Best drain it before the resting period and reduce it greatly. Being steamed, joint has unusual palour.

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  • 2013-04-01 17:13:27.274229

    Anoushka rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I cooked this for Easter Sunday dinner. The preparation is fiddly and time consuming, so special occasions only! I would not do this as a casual meal, too much trouble. The flavours were really nice, but the juices too acidic. If you have organic or young, free range lamb add less lemon, one lemon should be plenty. As others, I had reduced a little and thickened the juices. The timings seem ok, next time ( if there is next time) I may cook mine as recommended on 130 degrees in fan oven as I raised the temp and it was well cooked - a little more pink may have been good, too.

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  • 2013-04-02 13:56:46.396606

    Maisie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Great recipe. It was so easy and flavours were delicious. My family are still talking about it. The gravy was delicious. I will definitely make this again.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 3 hrs

plus marinating

Ingredients

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Per serving

603 kcalories, protein 71.6g, carbohydrate 1.9g, fat 34.3 g, saturated fat 14g, fibre 0.3g, salt 0.5 g

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