Roast Lamb with Arabic Herbs

An easy to prepare baked lamb dish using wonderful aromatic herbs and grapefruit juice. Delicious and tender after roasting, tasting truly sublime when accompanied by the naturally, slow baked whole garlic bulbs… just FABULOUS.

Serves 6

15mins+2hr marinade

45 - 60 minutes

180º - 200ºC

Ingredients

1 large leg of lamb

- bone removed & cut into 6 chunks
Garlic slivers for marinating
6 whole garlic bulbs

- excess outer layer removed
Olive oil for frying and roasting
300ml grapefruit juice
1 tsp dried zaatar
1 tsp dried rosemary
Handful of fresh dill

- finely chopped
Sea salt & black pepper

Instructions

Prepare lamb:
01 Insert slivers of fresh garlic into the flesh of each piece of lamb. Allow to marinate a few hours.
Roast:
02 Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. When smoking hot brown the pieces of lamb on both sides. Remove and place in a lightly oiled roasting tin.
03 In between each piece of meat place individual, whole garlic bulbs. Scatter all over with herbs, and drizzle heavily with extra olive oil especially over the garlic. Season lightly. Place in a hot oven and roast uncovered for 20 minutes or so.
04 Remove from the oven. Pour over the grapefruit juice, now cover with tin foil, and place back in the hot oven for a further 30 minutes.
Serve:
05 Take to the table immediately, offering each piece of meat its own bulb of whole garlic, juices and herbs.

Notes

Make sure you use lean chunky pieces of lamb; if the cut is thin and fatty it will spoil the end result. Remember to remove only the thin outer papery layers of the garlic as you want them to remain whole during roasting. It is OK to leave the lamb overnight with the garlic and roast the following day.