With Easter just around the corner, it’s definitely time to start planning what you want to eat….other than chocolate that is.

We typically have either lamb or ham ..or both over the Easter weekend. Ham with mounds of mash potato ..covered in creamy, parsley sauce – delicious or a delectable joint of lamb marinated in herbs served with oodles of mint sauce and homemade gravy.

The recipe I’m sharing with you today is for Roast Leg of New Zealand lamb and I’m writing this post just a few hours after eating it because it was so incredibly good. It’s the first time I’ve cooked lamb with all these extra bits like walnuts, almonds and apricots and wow it made a difference.

This New Zealand lamb leg was from Sainburys and cost £20 for just over 2kg. This easily fed 4 adults and 2 children with leftovers to make up for 2 small dinners for the children tomorrow. I’ve also got a decent sized chunk leftover to make lamb cawl which I will share the recipe for later in the week.

Easter Herb Roasted Lamb With Apricots, Walnuts & Almonds

1 x 2kg leg of New Zealand Lamb
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• the leaves from 15cm stalk of rosemary, chopped
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 heads of fennel, cut into 6 wedges each
• 2 bunches baby carrots, skins scrubbed
• 10 dried apricots, halved
• 100g whole almonds
• 60g walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 180˚C. Place the lamb in a roasting dish and poke a sharp knife into the flesh in 12 places.
Now mix the garlic, rosemary, thyme and olive oil with a little salt and pepper and poke this into the holes and massage the remainder into the leg.
Place in the centre of the oven and roast for 45 minutes. After 20 minutes, add 100ml water to prevent the garlic from burning.

Tip the fennel ( I only used 2 bulbs which was more than adequate ) and carrots onto the lamb and turn the leg over then roast for a further 30 minutes.
Take the lamb from the dish, add the apricots, walnuts and almonds, then replace the lamb, again turned over, and put back in the oven. It will be cooked medium in another 15 – 25 minutes depending on the size. I cooked it a little longer ( an extra 10-15mins) as my parents don’t like it too pink and it was just perfect.
8Remove the lamb from the roasting dish and sit on a plate loosely covered with foil and a tea towel, and rest in a warm place for at least 15 minutes ( I left it around 30 )

With the meat cooked and resting I scooped out all of the veg and nuts into a bowl and added 500ml of (Kallo GF) stock, 3 tbsp of (GF) flour, a splash of red wine and seasoning to the roasting tray and made a delicious gravy to accompany it. I’ve also still got a bowlful of fennel, carrots, garlic and nuts left which I’m going to use tomorrow to blitz into a flavourful soup.

We served our lamb with roasted carrots, potatoes and sweet potatoes as well as peas and broccoli..and mint sauce. Of course.

We invited our parents over for the meal and both commented on how incredibly tasty and tender the lamb was. I managed to forget to take anymore photos after carving the meat which is a sign of just how good the meal was!

The little ones enjoyed just as much, both clearing their plates and also it’s completely gluten free, egg free, soy free and dairy free if like us you have children with allergies.

You can find out lots more info about NZ lamb and other delicious recipes here

* I was provided with shopping vouchers to purchase the lamb and accompanying ingredients.