Roast Leg of Lamb with homemade vegetable stock

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Oven Roast

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Cut slits along the meat and insert the garlic cloves into them.

   Knife
3. 3
   Put the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, garlic, bay leaves and thyme in a large pot with the cold water.

   Large pot

   💡Start with cold water: the vegetables release their flavor slowly as the water heats up.
4. 4
   Bring to a boil over high heat and skim off the foam.

   Stove
5. 5
   Turn down to medium-low heat and simmer uncovered 30–45 minutes.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
6. 6
   Strain the stock through a fine sieve.

   Fine sieve
7. 7
   Mix the olive oil, paprika, rosemary, thyme, cumin, salt and black pepper and rub the meat well with the mixture.

   Bowl
8. 8
   Place the meat in a baking pan and arrange the onion around it, add the bay leaves.

   Baking pan
9. 9
   Pour the stock into the bottom of the pan.
10. 10
    Bake tightly covered with foil 120 minutes, until the meat softens.

    OvenAluminum foilBaking pan

    💡Shoulder is rich in connective tissue: only long, covered baking, in the steam of the liquids in the pan, makes it tender. The cover comes off only at the end, for browning.

    💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
11. 11
    Bake without the foil, after pouring the lemon juice over it, 30 minutes, until the meat is browned, tender and falls apart easily with a fork.

    OvenBaking pan