Summer lamb with lemon yoghurt and pickled onion

Recipe by Alice Taylor

MasterChef NZ finalist and social media sensation Alice Taylor provided us with a delicious summer lamb recipe, perfect for over the festive season.

For my family, summer means lamb, and this roast leg is one of the easiest and most flavourful ways to cook it. It’s incredibly simple, and if you like, it can be done in a slow cooker. A slow cooked lamb might not feel particularly summer-like, but the way I see it, we’re all time-poor no matter the season. To freshen things up, I pair the lamb with a zesty yoghurt sauce and quick pickled red onions. Honestly, they’re far tastier and faster to make at home than tracking them down in the supermarket pickle aisle.

Serves: 5

Prep time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

INGREDIENTS

- 1 leg of lamb

- 500ml of liquid: I use 200ml white wine and 300ml liquid

- Olive oil

- 4 large potatoes, roughly chopped

METHOD

- Season your lamb well – don’t be shy. It’s a big cut of meat, and the flavour needs to stick.

- Brown it on all sides in a hot pan until deeply golden. Two quick notes:  

- Use a generous hand with the salt, since it’s only going on the outside.

- Browning means more flavour and helps keep the juices inside.

- Line a large oven tray with baking paper. Place the lamb on the tray, pour white wine and water on the bottom, and cover with tin foil.

- Bake at 120°C for two hours.

- Remove the foil, place the potatoes on the tray, drizzle with oil and season. Increase the oven to 180°Cand bake for another hour                                                                                         

TO SERVE

Zesty yoghurt sauce

- 1 cup yoghurt

- Zest and juice of 1 lemon

- ½ clove of garlic, minced (optional)

- Pinch of salt

Mix together until smooth.

Quick pickled onions

- 2 red onions, finely sliced

- ½ cup vinegar

- ¼ cup sugar

- ¼ water

Heat the vinegar, sugar and water until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the onions and let them pickle while the lamb cooks. Serve everything with a simple salad of peas and baby spinach – fresh, light and green.

Find more from Alice, including her top tips for budget friendly cooking in the latest edition of Farmlander.