Rosemary & Garlic Roast Lamb

I prepared this dish for our Easter Lunch today.  French Beans & Cherry Tomatoes Salad and Roasted Rosemary Potatoes are served on the side.

Ingredients (serves 4):
1,4 kg leg of lamb (with bone)
1 pip garlic, to be sliced into sticks
1 stalk fresh rosemary
salt & pepper to taste
3 carrots, to be peeled and coarsely chopped
1 celery root, to be peeled and coarsely chopped
1 big onion, to be peeled and coarsely chopped
hot oil or ghee (Butterschmalz)
100 ml vegetable stock or lamb stock
200 g fresh cream

500 g french beans, to be washed and both ends cut
1 tsp dried savory (Bohnenkraut)
2 tbsp butter
2 shallots, to be peeled and finely chopped
250 g cherry tomatoes, to be washed and stalk end cut
1 tbsp chopped parsley

750 g small or medium-sized potatoes, to be brushed clean under running water with skin on
sea salt
olive oil
1 stalk fresh rosemary, to be plucked

Method:
Preheat conventional oven to 225° C.  Remove fat from lamb.  With a sharp knife, make slits in the "muscles" or "veins" all over leg of lamb.  Insert garlic sticks or rosemary into the slits. Rub with salt and pepper.  Place lamb in a lightly greased baking pan.  Add chopped carrots, celery root and onions around lamb.  Before putting lamb into oven, pour hot oil or ghee over lamb.  Pour about 50 ml vegetable stock over the chopped vegetables.  Place lamb in oven and after about 10 minutes cooking time, reduce heat to 210° C.  Roast for about one hour and 45 minutes (2nd rack from below) - do bear in mind that the cooking time varies with the weight of meat.  Pour another 50 ml vegetable stock over chopped vegetables after 45 minutes.

Once done, wrap lamb in aluminium foil and allow it to rest in the oven (switched off) for about 10 to 15 minutes.  While the lamb is "resting" in the oven, remove cooked vegetables into a pot and mash or purée them to a pulp.  Add cream and bring to boil over medium heat.  One may add milk if the gravy is too thick.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Remove bone and slice lamb before serving.  Serve with gravy.

Grease a medium-size casserole lightly with olive oil.  Sprinkle sea salt on base of casserole. Pour some olive oil in a small bowl.  Coat each potato lightly with olive oil and arrange in casserole.  Then, sprinkle some sea salt and plucked rosemary over the potatoes.  Once the lamb is roasting for about 45 minutes in the oven, place casserole on the lowest rack.  The potatoes will be ready at the same time as the roast lamb.

Boil french beans together with dried savory in salted water until the beans are almost tender. Remove from heat and drain beans in a sieve.  In a pot, heat butter and add chopped shallots. Fry until translucent before adding the beans.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Lastly, add cherry tomatoes and remove from heat.

Serve roast lamb slices with French Beans & Cherry Tomatoes Salad and Roasted Rosemary Potatoes.

Bon Appetit!