A lovely way to cook lamb – the Maldon salt crust gently seasons and perfumes the meat without making it overly salty and then seals in all the juices and flavour. You’ll not get a more tender result.
Buttery jersey royals are at their prime in Spring and make for the ideal accompaniment to lamb.
Mix the salt with the egg whites to form a thick “paste” add some water to loosen if its too thick, you’ll need to be able to roughly mould around the lamb.
Heat an oven to 160c.
Season the lamb leg and then seal in a large saute pan to brown on all sides. Turn off the heat and lay the rosemary stalks on top of the leg.
Spoon some of the salt mix into a roasting tin and place the lamb on top. Nestle around the garlic and then mould the rest of the salt mix around the lamb to seal but leave the end bones protruding out.
Place the lamb in the oven and slowly cook for 2.5 – 3 hours until the meat is soft and tender with an internal temp of around 65c. Remove from the oven and rest for at least 20 minutes before cracking the crust open and carefully discarding. The lamb should come away from the bone very easily.
Whilst the lamb is cooking, boil the potatoes until just tender and then drain and cool before slitting lengthwise halfway through the middle and inserting a bay leaf. Place the potatoes on a roasting tin, season and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until golden and crispy. Reserve and keep warm.
Serve chunks of the lamb alongside the bay potatoes and a some garlicky alioli. Spring greens tossed in olive oil would also be a good addition.