Summer Sunday roast

I’m just gonna say it – if your guests are arriving in the next few hours then this is not the one for you.  If your guests are arriving for lunch the day after you’re planning a night out then this is going to tick all the boxes.

Around 12 hours before you want to eat it, rub a little olive oil and sea salt onto the lamb, pop it in a roasting pan in the middle of an 80°C oven and head off to bed safe in the knowledge that you are the host who started preparing the night before…

12 hour lamb with minted salsa verde and pomegranate pea salad
(serves 4 with generous leftovers)

1/2 leg of lamb
1 bunch fresh mint, chopped
1/2 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
3/4 cup of olive oil
juice and zest of half a lemon
1 small shallot, finely diced
sea salt and black pepper

2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
5 basil leaves, finely sliced
1 large bag lambs lettuce (or any kind of leafy green salad)
arils/seeds of 1 pomegranate
1 cup petit pois (I use frozen, cooked then cooled)

Directions

Combine the mint, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, shallot and add a little seasoning to taste.  Salsa verde done.

Combine the yoghurt, vinegar, olive oil, honey, basil and add a little seasoning to taste.  Salad dressing done.

When you’re ready to serve the meal, take the lamb out of the oven and transfer him to a large dish.  He should be so tender that the meat will melt off the bone if you give him a nudge.  I gently forked some pieces off and spooned over some of the salsa verde.  I left the rest on the bone to keep warm and for people to help themselves to more.

Toss the lettuce, peas and pomegranate together and drizzle over the dressing.  Not only is this salad super healthy and fresh, it also looks pretty and that’s always good for a dinner table.

I served my lamb and salad alongside torn, fresh baguettes (freshly bought from the shop round the corner) and my Sunday lunchers were smiling.  (And I had my carpets cleaned yesterday.  And I cleaned out (half my) closet.  And the garden has been tidied.  Domestic winning!).

P.S.  The husband and I both loved the salsa verde but when it came to Round 2 of the leftovers that evening I couldn’t manage any more.  I guess the oil in in salsa verde combined with the richness of the lamb was just a little much for me.  I made a small bowl of ‘yoghurt verde’ – exactly the same as the salsa verde but sub the olive oil for Greek yogurt.  Still wonderfully fragrant and fresh tasting but a little easier on the palate (and fat content).