1 leg of lamb (about 4 lbs)
3 lb potatoes (about 5 oz each)
1 lemon (may be doubled)
1 honey
1 olive oil
1 butter
1 rosemary, thyme & oregano
Directions
Put the leg of lamb into a large roasting pan. Bruise the leaves of
2 or 3 sprigs of rosemary and sprinkle them over the meat. Add plenty
of pepper and 1 tablespoon honey. Rub the mixture into the meat with
your hands. Then rub half a lemon over the joint, squeezing the juice
on to the meat as you do so. Do not add any salt. Leave to marinate
for 4 to 24 hours.
Peel and quarter the potatoes, then arrange them in a single layer
round the lamb. Squeeze lemon juice over the potatoes -- use at
least half a lemon, or up to one and a half lemons for a strong
citrus flavour. Carefully pour 1/4 pint water into a corner of the
roasting pan, then sprinkle over the potatoes and lamb about 2
tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, at least 1 teaspoon each fresh
chopped thyme and oregano, and some salt and pepper. Drizzle on
1-1/2 teaspoons honey and 1 tablespoon olive oil, then dot with 1 oz
butter. Bake at 425 F (220 C) gas mark 6 for a further 1 to 1-1/4
hours. The ingredients will become gilded and will burnish to a rich
brown in places. Lift the meat and turn the potatoes occasionally,
and if necessary, add a little boiling water to the pan to prevent
drying out.
Servings: 8 servings
Aromatic Lamb Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Lamb; Meat
The History of Recipes
Historians have tracked the existance of recipes back into distant history, in fact as far back into history as early Egypt, and maybe further still. In practice though, generally, these early cookbooks were just primitive hieroglyphic recipes for preparing meals.
Fascinatingly, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to food historians is a collection of stone tablets in Sumerian which describe the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making people feel `wonderful`. During the time of the Roman Empire a Roman scholar, called Apicius, assembled some scrolls showing how to cook the recipes enjoyed by the Romans. In his publication, Apicius recounts how the meals were separated into appetizers, main course and desserts, a style of dining still practiced today. Aspicius also describes how the chefs of Roman times made use of a good variety of aromatic flavors, including many that are still in use today such as thyme, fennel and parsley. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years there are some books which appeared in the 14th Century - a book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another titled `Curye on Inglish`. Don`t be fooled by the titles though, these two books are not about the indian curry that is popular today, but instead recipes for the types of food prepared for the nobility of the time. In the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought us a variety of foods and herbs from the holy land, including coriander, parsley, and rosemary. These new culinary innovations led to an increase in books on cooking, many of which are kept safe in private libraries. Over the following few hundred years, the wealthy families of Europe strove to serve up the most extravagent meals, and consequentially the best cooks and their recipes could command a high salary. Notwithstanding that, it was during the nineteenth century that fine cooking and recipe collections became popular. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, dedicated the best years of their lives to collecting, trying out, and recording popular recipes of the day. By the arrival of the 20th century, recipe publications are greatly in demand mostly as a result of better eduction, more leisure time and having more money to spend. The introduction of television brought us TV chefs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. Which pretty much brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, allowing everyone to search through massive numbers of recipes such as those found on sites such as this. |
We hope you enjoy this Aromatic Lamb recipe.
