- 1½kg lamb shoulder, boned and rolled
- 1½ garlic bulb
- A large handful of mint, leaves only
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 350ml water, stock or wine
- Honey (optional)
- 1.
Heat your oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Unwrap the lamb and put in a roasting tin. Pat the meat dry. Set aside and leave to come to room temperature.
- 2.
Take 2 cloves from the garlic bulb. Peel and finely chop. Slice what’s left of the garlic bulb in half to make 2 rounds. Set aside.
- 3.
Place the chopped garlic in a pestle and mortar. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Muddle it all together with 1 tbsp of olive oil to create a rub.
- 4.
Rub the mix all over the lamb. Nestle the halved garlic bulb under or next to the lamb.
- 5.
Roast the lamb for 25 mins, or till it has a golden crust. Add 350ml of water (or stock or wine). Cover the tin with a double layer of foil. Lower the heat to 160°C/Fan 140°C/Gas 3. Roast for 3 hrs.
- 6.
Remove the tin from the oven. Carefully unwrap the lamb (mind the steam). Transfer the meat to a chopping board and loosely cover with foil. Rest for 45 mins to 1 hr before serving. Keep the tin juices for later.
- 7.
When you’re nearly ready to carve, skim the fat off the top of the tin juices. Squeeze the roast garlic cloves from their skins and mash with the back of a knife to a smoothish paste. Add to the tin and place on a medium heat. If your roasting tin isn’t suitable for the hob, pour the juices into a pan.
- 8.
Bring the garlicky juices up to a simmer, adding a little more water, stock or wine if you need to. Bubble gently for 10 mins. Season and add a touch of honey if you like for extra sweetness.
- 9.
Strip the leaves from the mint stalks. Finely chop them. Add them to the garlic gravy just before serving. Drizzle over slices of the tender roast lamb.
- Tip
Minty fresh
If you want to make a fresh mint sauce to go with the lamb instead, strip the leaves from a handful of mint leaves (around 30g) and mix with 4 tbsp each white wine vinegar, water and 1 tbsp caster sugar. Season and stir. Instead of rubbing the garlic all over the lamb, halve the bulb and pop that in the tin for the final hour. Then you can serve sweet slithers of roast garlic alongside the mint sauce with your lamb.