Festive Recipes - Whole Leg of Lamb with Anchovies, Capers and Rosemary with Susie Hagen

Over the last few years, Susie has been sharing her roast turkey recipe with us but this year she's doing something a little bit different. She's made made a Roasted Whole Leg of Lamb with Anchovies, Capers and Rosemary and paired it with Roasted Tomatoes with Almonds and Feta and a Green Romesco to tie in the red, green and white colour palette.

Ingredients:

Lamb + Potatoes

• 1 lamb leg, bone-in (about 2.75kg)
• 16 anchovy fillets
• 1 tbsp salted baby capers, rinsed, drained
• ¼ cup rosemary sprigs (firmly packed)
• 250 ml white wine
• 250 ml chicken stock 
• 6 potatoes, scrubbed and coarsely chopped
• 16 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 80g almonds
• 12 ripe, vine ripened tomatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 100g large, golden raisins
• 6 garlic cloves
• 6 pieces lemon peel
• 2 long red chillies, thinly sliced
• 8 marjoram sprigs
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
• 150g Persian feta, coarsely broken

Salsa Verde

• 120g parsley, finely chopped
• 190ml olive oil
• 40g almonds, toasted, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• salt and freshly cracked pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 140C. Pierce lamb with around 16 slits with a sharp knife. 
2. Press an anchovy, caper and rosemary sprig in each slit.
3. Place the lamb in a roasting tray and pour wine and chicken stock around it. 
4. Cook in preheated oven for around 3½-4 hours.
5. Roast the potatoes with garlic in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil and cook until golden.
6. After you take the lamb out to rest, scrape the pan and strain the juices into a small saucepan. Add 1/2C - 1C of wine and reduce it down before adding in a knob of butter to make the jus glisten. Season with salt and pepper. 
7. For the roast tomatoes, spread the almonds on a tray and roast for 4-5 mins or until golden, then coarsely chop.
8. Place tomatoes in roasting pan in a snug, single layer and drizzle with olive oil, scatter with raisins, garlic, lemon peel, chilli, marjoram, bay and fennel seeds.
9. Season to taste and roast until tomatoes blister, around 15 mins.
10. Remove from oven and pour the pan juices in a small saucepan, reduce over high heat until thick and syrupy then pour back over the tomatoes.
11. Scatter with feta, almonds and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
12. To make the green romesco, combine the parsley, olive oil, almonds, garlic, chilli, vinegar and paprika and season with salt and pepper. Alternatively, you can combine in a food processor.