Honey Glazed Roast Lamb With Honey Mint Sauce

Submitted by MarieRynr

"When you invite friends over for Sunday lunch it's a time to relax, not be stuck in the kitchen among the pots and pans. This Roast Lamb is an excellent choice, especially when partnered with rosemary and honey and a sauce using fresh mint. The honey glaze turns the joint a lovely golden colour, and the honey-sweetened mint sauce is a flavoursome change from the sharp vinegary taste of traditional recipes. Serve with a hot gratin of Dauphinoise Potatoes and some braised leeks for a really special meal."

 

• Ready In: 3hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 -3 sprigs fresh rosemary, bruised leaves
• 1 (4 1/2 lb) leg of lamb, about
• 1 large onion, peeled and thickly sliced
• 2 medium carrots, pared and thickly sliced
• 2 tablespoons clear honey
• 10 fluid ounces dry cider
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• FOR THE HONEY MINT SAUCE

• 3 1⁄2 fluid ounces white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons clear honey
• 4 -6 tablespoons of fresh mint, finely chopped

directions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Combine the flour, salt, pepper, cinnamon and rosemary and rub well into the lamb on all sides.
3. Lay the onion and carrot in the bottom of the roasting tin and the lamb on top.
4. Roast, allowing 25 to 30 minutes per 500g (1 lb 2oz) of weight, less for a pinker meat.
5. Turn the joint halfway through to cook evenly.
6. Meanwhile, make the sauce; warm the vinegar and honey until the honey has dissolved, then stir in the mint and leave to cool.
7. About 30 minutes before the end of cooking time, carefully lift out the meat and strain off the fat from the roasting tin (leave the vegetables).
8. Replace the meat, best side up.
9. Spread with the honey, and add the cider to the pan.
10. Return to the oven, increasing the heat to 375*F, and finish roasting, basting once or twice.
11. Lift the joint and vegetables on to a hot serving platter.
12. Blend the cornstarch with 1 TBS of cold water, add to the roasting tin and boil, stirring for a few minutes to make gravy.
13. Strain into a hot sauceboat.
14. Serve the lamb with the hot cider gravy and honey mint sauce.

Reviews

[trasarra]

Truly wonderful. The aroma of the cinnamon, rosemary and lamb filled the house while roasting and delicately flavored the lamb at first serving and leftovers. The gravy and the mint sauce are both superb. The recipe was followed as written and the lamb was so good that there are not enough adjectives to describe how much we enjoyed it. We served it with sweet potatoes and an asparagus salad. Thank you for this terrific addition to my recipe collection.

 

[Sackville]

Superb lamb. Turned out very tender, if a tiny bit too pink for my taste in the very centre. I think for a smaller joint (mine was 800g or half a leg) you might need to bake it for slightly more than the 30/mins per 500g rule. The skin was crispy from the honey and the gravy was to die for! I didn't have cider so used a high acid, dry white wine instead. Wasn't crazy over the mint sauce. It was a bit vinegary for my taste, but I think more honey and less vinegar would make it much nicer. I will experiment.

 

[Young Structural]

Just wonderful. I did not enjoy the mint sauce as much as I had hoped to, but am not known for liking vinegar in a sauce. I may even have made a mistake with heating time for the sauce *blush*. Otherwise excellent: The lamb was just so tender! I actually used 8lbs of knuckle shoulder tied into three roasts and they turned out fantastically. Thanks for the recipe!

 

[mrsjenjen]

Gorgeous! I didn't use the cinnemon, but it turned out perfect! Thank you!

 

[Stinkerbell]

This turned out lucious and wonderful. We really enjoyed it with your fantastic roasted potatoes. My husband said it was the best lamb he has ever tasted. Thanks for yet another great recipe!