garlic and rosemary leg of lamb with cous cous

After taking out the two leg bones out of the leg of English lamb recently bought half price from Tesco I punctured the lamb flesh with a sharp knife about twenty times over it's surface. I inserted slithers of pre-cut fresh garlic bulbs and fresh rosemary leaves from my garden and trussed up the leg with some butcher's string. With the remainder of the rosemary and garlic I made a paste by adding some mustard seeds and ground the combination with my wooden mortar in my wooden pestle. I bathed the lamb in plain olive oil and cooked in the oven at gas mark 5. The lamb got cooked for two and half hours and for the last half hour I added a knob of butter to the roast. Two or three times during the cooking I basted the lamb to keep the flesh succulent.

trussed lamb and annointments

Meanwhile I used some Moroccan style cous cous from a packet (Co-op) and some haricot vertes for a simple yet very tasty meal. The joint itself will last at least three days. I am considering buying another leg and making a tagine style dinner for Christmas.