Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
1 leg of lamb (bone in) or 2 short-cut legs of lamb (2 1/2 – 3 1/2 kg)
1 head of garlic, skins removed and cut into slivers
5 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
1 cup dry white wine
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
2-3 teaspoons dried Greek oregano
2-3 bay leaves
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
hot water
Method:
1. Stick a paring knife into the lamb and make a hole, then slip in a sliver of garlic. Repeat and insert as many slivers of garlic as you can into the leg.
2. Pre-heat your oven to 280°C and place the rack in the middle position. Drizzle your lamb with some olive oil and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Place the leg of lamb in a roasting pan that just fits the leg. Place in your pre-heated oven and roast uncovered for about 10-15 minutes or until browned, then flip the leg and roast for another 10-15 minutes.
3. Remove the lamb from the oven and reduce the heat to 180°C. Place the quartered onions around the lamb, add any remaining slivers of garlic, add the herbs (thyme, bay, rosemary, oregano), squeeze in the lemon juice and pour the wine into the pan. Add the olive oil and enough hot water to cover a third of the lamb.
4. Cover and place the lamb back in the oven for 2 hours (add more hot water if needed), baste the lamb once an hour. After two hours, flip the leg of lamb (add more water if necessary and adjust seasoning of liquid with salt and pepper).
5. After three hours, the leg of lamb should be a deep brown and the bones will be exposed and the meat should show signs of separating from the bone. Remove the lamb from the oven, baste with liquid and allow to rest.
*Have some peeled potatoes (quartered) to roast in another roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Pour enough pan juices from the lamb leg to come up a third of the way on the potatoes and toss to coat. Taste, adjust seasoning and crank your oven up to 230°C and place the potatoes in the oven to roast for 35-40 minutes or until fork-tender (the lamb will stay warm covered in the roasting pan on the stove-top).