Indulge in the delightful tastes of this recipe, featured in Jenny Linford’s cookbook, Garlic. This French-inspired dish combines the timeless taste of lamb with a savoury umami twist from melted anchovy fillets. Experience the irresistible charm of this flavourful culinary creation.
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Recipe Card
Garlic anchovy roast lamb
Adding a few classic flavours to lamb before roasting it is a simple step that transforms the finished dish. As the lamb cooks, the anchovy fillets “melt” into the dish, adding an extra umami touch to the tender lamb. Serve with new potatoes and your choice of broccoli, green beans, or brussels sprouts.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 1 leg of lamb approximately 1.5 kg/3¼ lbs
- 2 garlic cloves chopped into slivers
- 5 anchovy fillets chopped into short pieces
- 3 fresh rosemary sprigs cut into short pieces
- 40 g/3 tablespoons butter softened
- 150 ml/2/3 cup red wine
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Gravy
- 300 ml/1¼ cups chicken stock or water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F) Gas 8. Bring the lamb to room temperature.
- Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Using a small, sharp knife, make little incisions in the lamb flesh on all sides of the leg. Take a piece of garlic, anchovy, and rosemary and insert them into an incision, making sure to push the garlic into the flesh. Repeat the process until all the garlic has been used.
- Mash any remaining anchovy and rosemary leaves into the softened butter. Place the lamb in a roasting tray and smear the butter over the fleshy part of the lamb. Pour over the red wine.
- Roast the lamb in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4 and roast for a further 45 minutes for medium rare or 30–35 minutes for rare, basting now and then with the wine roasting juices.
- Remove from the oven and let it rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- To make the gravy, deglaze the roasting pan by placing it on the stovetop, adding the stock or water, and bringing it to a boil. Scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to release the flavoursome brown residues so they combine with the liquid.
- Serve the lamb with the roasting juice gravy on the side.
Taken from the August/September Issue of France Today Magazine, recipe courtesy of Jenny Linford’s Garlic.
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