Butterflied lamb leg with pancetta and zesty spring veg

Locate the bone running through the centre of the joint and using a sharp knife, carefully slice down running the blade along the bone to carefully remove it. Don’t cut all the way through the meat as we want it in one piece.  

Open the meat up like a book – you’ll find one half is much thicker than the other so butterfly open the thicker side and unfold more until you have an even thickness all round. Trim off any excess fat. 

 

Now mix up the marinade. Either roughly chop or blitz in a processor the following: 

3 anchovies 
1 tbsp capers, drained 
1 tbsp Dijon mustard 
25ml olive oil 
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1 sprigs of fresh rosemary (stalk removed( 
2 garlic cloves, crushed or 1tbsp garlic puree 
Juice of 1/2 lemon 
 

If the paste is too thick, add a little more olive oil. 

 

Smear the marinade all over the leg of lamb and slide into the oven. Flip regularly until both sides are golden brown and the internal temp hits 60C. 

 

(You can use this exact same method but with different flavour combinations – try tandoori paste or Moroccan. Even jerk paste works well.) 

 

Set the lamb aside to rest under loosely tented foil whilst we make the veg. 

 

In a dry skillet, toast the almond flakes until golden brown then set aside. 

 

Slice the courgettes and asparagus into small bite sized morsels then mix in with the broad beans and peas in a small bowl. 

 

Add the diced pancetta to a skillet and slide into the oven to start browning and rendering the fat out. Once brown add the veg with around 100ml of water and slide into the oven. 

Stir regularly until the veg is tender and the water has gone. 

 

Squeeze in the lemon juice, season with black pepper and toss in the flaked almonds. 

 

Slice the lamb  across the grain and serve on a bed of the veg