Spring fling

CELEBRATE THE SEASON’S BOUNTY WITH THESE DELICIOUS RECIPES ROAST LEG OF LAMB WITH LEMON, OLIVES & SPRING VEGETABLES

INGREDIENTS

• 230g pitted green olives, plus extra halved lengthwise, to serve

• 7-8 anchovy fillets in oil, drained

• 2 garlic bulbs, cloves separated, 8 cloves peeled

• ¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice

• ½ cup (125ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 tbsp extra

• ¾ bunch flat-leaf parsley, plus extra chopped, to serve

• 2.5kg lamb leg, bone in

• 2 lemons, sliced into quarters widthwise

• 1 ½ cups (375ml) goodquality beef stock

• 200g green beans, trimmed

• 4 young pale celery stalks, peeled, cut into 6cm batons

• 2 large zucchinis, halved lengthwise, cut into rough wedges

• 150g snow peas, trimmed

• 150g sugar snap peas, trimmed

• Fried capers & steamed chat potatoes, to serve

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 200C. To make the olive paste, place the olives, anchovies, peeled garlic, lemon juice and oil in a food processor with half of the parsley, stalks and all. Pulse, scraping down the sides, until a rough paste is formed. Season to taste and set aside.

2 Season the lamb leg all over. Scatter the lemon and remaining unpeeled garlic cloves in a large roasting pan. Place the lamb on top and roast for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and spread the olive paste all over the top of the lamb. Roast for a further 30-40 minutes until cooked to your liking. Transfer lamb to a large tray, cover with foil and keep warm until ready to serve.

3 Meanwhile, to make the roasted garlic sauce, skim off almost all the lamb fat from the roasting pan, reserving pan juices. Taking care of the heat, squeeze out the roasted garlic from their skins (reserving 2 cloves) and the lemon into the pan juices. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium saucepan with the stock. Place over high heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes until reduced by one quarter. Season to taste and keep hot until ready to serve.

4 Heat a large frypan with extra 2 tbsp olive oil over high heat. Add beans, celery, zucchini and reserved 2 cloves of roasted garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until beans are just cooked. Set aside and keep warm.

5 Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan half full of salted water to the boil. Cook snow peas and sugar snap peas for 2 minutes or until just cooked. Strain and add to warm bean mixture. Season to taste and toss to combine.

6 Place lamb on a serving platter and arrange snow peas, sugar snap peas, beans and zucchini around it. Scatter with halved olives, crispy capers and extra parsley leaves. Serve with roasted garlic sauce and steamed potatoes.