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My festive roast leg of lamb flavoured with rosemary, cloves, orange and cranberries makes a fantastic alternative to turkey on Christmas day or to feed your family and friends over the festive period.
Today I’m sharing the first of two festive recipes I’ve created as part of my collaboration with Tasty Easy Lamb, a Festive Roast Leg of Lamb. It’s flavoured with rosemary, cloves, orange and cranberries and it makes a fantastic alternative to turkey on Christmas Day or as an amazing centrepiece to a roast dinner over the festive period.
If you happen to have any leftovers then it also tastes delicious cold in a sandwich or served with some bubble and squeak.
I’ve shared the recipe here for a whole leg of lamb, but this will work just as well with a half leg if you’re cooking for fewer people, just reduce the cooking time accordingly. If you’re new to roasting lamb then there’s lots of extra advice, including what size of joint to buy in my recipe for Roast Leg of Lamb with Garlic & Herbs.
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Festive Roast Leg of Lamb
INGREDIENTS
- 1 leg of lamb - or half leg
- 10 cloves - approx
- 3 sprigs rosemary - approx
- 1 tbsp cranberry sauce - heaped tbsp. I prefer to use chunky cranberry sauce, but smooth is fine if that’s what you’ve got
- ¼ orange - zest only
- Salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- About an hour before you want to cook your lamb, remove it from the fridge, remove all packaging and place into a large roasting dish. Cover the lamb with cling film and allow it to come up to room temperature before roasting (about an hour).
- Remove the cling film and use a sharp knife to cut small slits in the lamb. Place a clove in each slit (see the picture above for how I spaced mine out). Lay a few sprigs of fresh rosemary on top of the lamb. Season with salt.
- Pre-heat your oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan).
- In a small bowl mix together the cranberry sauce (1 heaped tbsp) and orange zest (¼ orange).
- Roast the lamb for 2 hours, 5 minutes (adjust the time according to the weight of the lamb). About every 20-30 minutes, baste the joint with the juices in the bottom of the tray. Half an hour before the lamb has finished cooking, remove it from the oven and brush it with the cranberry and orange mixture so it has a thin coating all over the outside then return it to the oven to finish cooking.
- Once the lamb has cooked remove it from the oven, cover with foil and leave to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Remove the cloves and rosemary sprigs before serving.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
- Corn-Free
- Dairy-Free
- Egg-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Nut-Free
- Soy-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are easily available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Mairead Duddy says
Could this be cooked in advance and if so, how would you recommend reheating it? Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
A roast is usually best cooked fresh if possible. If you need to make in advance, you can cook, allow to cool, slice and then reheat the meat in gravy or on a plate in the microwave with a few drops of water to make sure it stays moist.
Bert Lockhart says
Hi I can’t give 5 yet as I’ve never tried cooking this. Really is a first alternative from traditional Christmas in Trinidad. This is for Boxing day. Will be sick of turkey
Sophie says
Does this make the meat quite sweet?
Charlotte Oates says
No, it’s just a coating around the edge so all the meat in the middle isn’t sweet. The coating gives a hint of sweetness to the lamb.
Simon Blakesley says
Hi thanks for the recipe, what veg would you do with it and how best to cook, ie roast our boil
Thank you
Simon.
Charlotte Oates says
Personally I’d do all of my favourite roasted veg – potatoes, carrots, parsnips and sprouts.
Lynds says
I am doing the lamb with cranberry and orange today for our Christmas dinner here in the UK.I will let you know how it goes.
Charlotte Oates says
What did you think?
Simone Cotton says
This sounds amazing I will try this for my christmas roast