Slow Roasted Lamb with Spiced Butter

I have been experimenting a lot with slow roasting lately. Slow roasted food is so wonderfully comforting in winter and I love filling the house with the roasting aromas.

With this lamb I had to make a choice - was I going to keep it covered the whole time and ensure it was always topped up with stock / wine? Or was I going to finish by roasting, uncovered and allow it to crisp on top? The trade off is that the latter option means that the meat is slightly dryer than the former. But since I love the crunchy parts on top, I went with the latter, but plan on experimenting with a wetter, more moist slow roast next time.

The result was however delicious. The lamb was still very moist and succulent despite being allowed to crisp on top and the spices tasted amazing. I attended a spice blending class at Herbies Spices last week so my interest in spices has been refreshed.

Ingredients

300g butter softened

4 tablespoons ground coriander seeds

1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

4 cloves garlic crushed

2 legs of lamb on the bone

2 cups vegetable stock

Seeds of 1 pomegranate

Handful fresh mint

Method

Preheat oven to 120 degrees. Place the butter and spices in a bowl and mix well. Cut slits in the lamb legs and smear with 2/3 of the butter mixture. Place lamb in a roasting tray with the vegetable stock. Cover tightly with foil. Roast in the oven for 7 hour. Increase heat to 160 degrees and roast uncovered for another hour. Allow to rest for at least 20 minutes before serving scattered with pomegranate seeds and mint.