Slow-cooked leg of lamb

This large leg of lamb, slow-cooked at a low temperature with salt, pepper, a bit of garlic, a few sprigs of rosemary (for remembrance, always) on a bed of small halved potatoes and covered with foil, makes for lamb that tastes of lamb. Thank you to Hannerie Visser's mom and Mariana Esterhuizen for the instructions and inspiration!

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Brown the lamb in a pan in 2 T olive oil. Using a sharp knife, make 8 small incisions into the meat, and squash half a garlic clove and a small sprig of rosemary into each incision.

2. Place the halved potatoes into a large roasting pan and top with the leg of lamb.

3. Rub with the remaining olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Add the remaining rosemary to the pan and pour the water (or wine if you are so inclined) over the potatoes. Cover tightly with tin foil and roast for 4 hours.

4. Reduce the temperature to 120°C and roast for a further 3 hours. Once you have taken the lamb out of the oven, let it rest for a bit before serving. The potatoes will be deliciously sticky and the bones will come out clean when gently pulled away. No carving required.

Find more lamb recipes here. 

Photograph: Andrea Van Der Spuy
Production: Bianca Strydom
Food assistant: Irinja Bekker