Roast lamb with saffron honey | Bibbyskitchen recipes (2024)

There’s a regal-ness to lamb that speaks of tradition and lavish celebration. It signifies generosity and extends open-handed hospitality. Although our festivities might be smaller and more intimate this year, roast lamb uphold its glorious reputation as the feasting table’s centrepiece. Because of my great love-affair with Middle Eastern food, I’ll be making Roast lamb with saffron honey.

While slow roasting requires time and patience, the preparation is hardly any effort at all. After the initial overnight marination, it’s into the oven for a few slow hours under a lazy eye. The reward? Meltingly tender meat that you can cut with a spoon. Because slow roasted lamb yields willingly, I prefer to pull the meat into uneven chunks rather than neatly carved slices. It’s not the kind of food that requires precision or exactness. I then swoosh the meat in the glossy gravy, making sure every mouthful sings with sweetly scented saffron honey sauce. The flavourings are earthy and deep, imbued with desert warmth and soulful spices. Helpful here, is a bread of some sort, maybe warm Turkish milk bread or fluffy flatbreads, to mop up golden-hued oil slicks.

Roast lamb with Saffron Honey

Marinade

  • 60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
  • 45ml (3 tablespoon) honey
  • 60ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • 10ml (2 teaspoons) cumin seeds, toasted
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes
  • a pinch of saffron threads, steeped in 1 tablespoon hot water
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt flakes
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • olive oil, for roasting
  • 2.5 -3kg free-range leg of lamb
  • 3 red onions, peeled and sliced into wedges
  • 1 garlic bulb, halved
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 125ml (1/2 cup) chicken stock
  • salt and cracked black pepper
  1. For the marinade, place all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and stir to combine.
  2. Rub the marinade into the lamb making sure the entire surface is covered. Place the lamb in a non-metallic dish, cover tightly and chill overnight.
  3. Before roasting, bring the meat up to room temperature.
  4. Preheat the oven to 180º C.
  5. Place the onions, garlic and bay leaves in a large roasting tin. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Flake a little more salt over the lamb and place on top of the onions, fatty side facing down.
  6. Add the stock to the roasting tin, cover loosely with foil and roast for about 2 1/2 hours.
  7. Remove the foil and carefully turn the lamb over with the fatty side facing up. Roast for 50-60 minutes uncovered. To render the fat and caramelise the top, increase the oven temperature to 220º C and roast for a 15-20 minutes until deeply golden.
  8. Remove the lamb from the roasting tin and cover with foil. Rest the meat while finishing the gravy.
  9. Place the roasting tin on the hob. Reduce the pan juices over a high heat until desired consistency. Or, for a thicker gravy, add a cornflour slurry and simmer until glossy and thickened.
  10. Taste and adjust seasoning with either a smattering of salt or a squeeze of lemon to brighten the flavours. Return the lamb to the roasting tin and heat through gently.

Cook’s Note: To make the cornflour slurry, combine 1 1/2 teaspoons cornflour with 45ml cold water.

If you need a quick and easy flatbread to serve alongside, you may want to try this recipe:

Easy yoghurt flatbreads

For those who have the Bibby’s Kitchen cookbook, the Turkish Milk-Bread on Pg 66 is incomparable. Alternately, the Chickpea and Cumin Flatbreads on Pg 68 are excellent too.

To serve as a side, the Bulgur Wheat Tabbouleh is really delicious.

6 Comments. Leave new

  • Tori

    19 March 2021 6:53 pm

    I know this is every cook’s most hated question, so I’ll apologize in advance. This recipe looks amazing, however my partner has a severe allergy to coriander, so I was wondering if caraway or (more) cumin would be a good substitute, or if it would be better to simply leave the coriander out altogether?
    Thank you!

  • Dianne Bibby

    20 March 2021 5:13 pm

    Hi Tori. No problem at all. Food is very flexible so we can always make a plan. In place of the coriander, I’d add 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin, which has a slightly more mellow taste than the crushed cumin seeds. To that, add 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice or all spice and you’re good to go. I hope that helps somewhat. Best regards Di

  • Christine K Glossman

    1 November 2021 2:53 pm

    This lamb was delicious, my dinner guests loved it too. I served it with Freekeh and the beautiful gravy. The spice blend was perfect and not overpowering.

  • Dianne Bibby

    7 November 2021 6:35 pm

    Hi Christine. I’m so delighted your guests loved it. It’s quite a regal roast to bring to the table. And the freekeh sounds just perfect too. Thank you for popping in to let me know.

  • Mikey

    27 December 2022 6:19 am

    This was absolutely delicious, I’ll certainly be making it again! I served it with cubed roast squash and a herb salad. The gravy is truly life-changing.

  • Dianne Bibby

    5 January 2023 10:46 pm

    So lovely to hear it was a raving success Mikey. Roast squash makes an excellent side. Isn’t gravy just the making of a good roast?

Leave a Reply

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Roast lamb with saffron honey | Bibbyskitchen recipes (2024)

FAQs

Do you need to brown lamb before roasting? ›

For the perfect roast lamb, we recommend seasoning the surface of the meat, and then searing it, especially fat side down in a pan before roasting. Why bother with searing? Contrary to some stories, searing is less about locking in moisture, and all about improving the flavour!

How does Gordon Ramsay roast lamb? ›

And when you have a gorgeous cut, like a rack of lamb, you can cook it the good ol' Gordon Ramsay way—which is to say, lightly pan-sear it first, then baste it with an herby, garlicky butter, and finally finish it off in the oven until it's still pink and juicy in the middle. It comes out perfectly every time.

What temperature do you roast lamb at? ›

For a medium cooked lamb, which is perfectly pink on the inside, budget about 25 minutes per pound or until the internal temp registers somewhere around 130°F (about 1 ½ to 2 hours in a 325 degrees F-heated oven).

Should I season lamb the night before? ›

The ultimate lamb needs to be seasoned the day before cooking. The debate over how to season any meat is an ongoing issue. One camp follows the advice laid out in the Los Angeles Times, which heralds the benefits of salting meat right before it hits the heat of a pan, oven, or grill.

Should lamb be cooked slow or fast? ›

Slow cooking in liquid transforms tougher cuts of lamb into fork-tender meat.

Should I sear my rack of lamb before roasting? ›

Sear fatty-side down first for a few minutes until browned. Turn and sear the meat "eye" edge until it's browned. Turn again so it's fatty-side up and transfer to the oven to finish cooking.

What is the most popular seasoning for lamb? ›

Fresh rosemary, fresh garlic, lemon zest, black pepper, and salt are simple but amazing flavors that pair amazingly with the lamb! Each of these ingredients adds its unique warmth and depth to enhance the flavor of the dish.

What makes lamb taste better? ›

It's such a distinctive flavor that it pairs well with nice, strong spices, as well as herbs. Coriander, fennel, garlic, shallot, ginger, lemon peel --I think those work really nicely with lamb. There are other herbs that are traditionally paired with lamb, like mint.

Should you flip roast lamb? ›

While the lamb is roasting I baste it with pan juices, flip the leg to evenly cook and prevent any dryness and this foolproof recipe will please those who love lamb and even gain some new fans! 1 leg of lamb (bone in) or 2 short-cut legs of lamb (6-8lbs.) Peel the skins off the garlic clove and slice them into slivers.

Does lamb get more tender the longer you cook it? ›

Yes, lamb meat can become more tender the longer you cook it, but it depends on the cut of lamb. Here's a breakdown of how different cuts of lamb respond to cooking: Lamb Shank: When cooked low and slow, lamb shanks become more tender as long as they don't dry out.

What side dishes go well with lamb? ›

  • Greek Salad with Lamb.
  • Couscous with Lamb.
  • Mashed Potatoes with Lamb.
  • Roasted Zucchini with Lamb.
  • Mediterranean Yellow Rice with Lamb.
  • Pita Bread and Tzatziki Sauce with Lamb.
  • Za'atar Roasted Carrots with Lamb.
  • Summary: Best 9 Side Dishes To Serve With Lamb Dinners.
Jul 25, 2022

What is the best lamb for roasting? ›

You can purchase leg of lamb bone-in or boneless. A whole leg of lamb often includes the shank portion, but since the shank does not take well to the dry heat of roasting, it's best to buy the leg without the shank. You can also buy a half leg of lamb; the butt-end of the leg will be the meatiest and most tender.

What temp does lamb fall off the bone? ›

The leg of lamb should be roasted to either a medium rare blushing pink on the inside (with an internal temp around 125-130°F) or roasted at a lower temperature (about 325 degrees F ) for several hours until the meat is so tender it can be pulled off the bone with tongs (about 205 degrees F).

What month is lamb in season? ›

In May and June lamb is at its most tender but as the season progresses the flavour develops. Spring lamb is fantastic for roasting simply with garlic and herbs, autumn lamb is great when given a spicier, more adventurous treatment (see below for examples).

Should I pre salt lamb? ›

No matter how you decide to cook your beautiful cut of grass-fed lamb, seasoning is the essential first step. Start by setting your cut of lamb onto a wire rack set into a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle generously on all sides with kosher salt.

Should raw lamb be brown? ›

If raw meat is brown, it could be nearing the end of its shelf life. Food Handlers must throw out raw meat if unsure of its freshness. Colour change is just one sign that meat may not be fresh and safe for consumption — though a change in appearance does not always indicate spoilage.

Should you sear a lamb roast? ›

Top tips for the perfect roast lamb
  1. Rack of lamb: Pre-sear it in a pan to get it brown all over, then roast for 10-25 minutes at 220°C, depending on your doneness preference.
  2. Leg of lamb: 20-30 minutes per 500g at 180°C.

How long to sear lamb before baking? ›

As turnips and potatoes cook, place a large, heavy, ovenproof skillet, preferably cast iron, on the stove over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Place lamb in pan and sear until browned on the bottom, 1½ to 2 minutes. Turn lamb and place pan in the oven.

Does lamb go brown when cooked? ›

Soft = medium rare – pink inside with a red centre. Springy = medium – pink throughout. Firmer = well-done range – mostly brown inside.

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