Leg of Cotswold Lamb Baked in Hay with Herb Butter
This recipe comes from Windrush House, winner of Westcountry Cooking Award: Best Farmhouse Food in Gloucestershire 2001. The hay adds a unique smoked flavour to the lamb, whilst the foil wrapping keeps the meat moist encasing the flavours.
Ingredients
3kg leg of lamb
110g softened butter
chopped herbs such as parsley, lemon thyme or rosemary
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
clean meadow hay
Method
- Wipe the leg with a kitchen cloth and then coat liberally with butter, and season with the sea salt and black pepper. Take 2 large pieces of tin foil and lay them criss-cross across the base of a roasting tin. On the base of the roasting tin lay some hay and place the lamb on top of it, sprinkle with chopped herbs and cover with hay.
- Wrap the whole tray tightly with the tin foils so that the hay does not catch fire. Bake at 190c, gas mark 5 for 3 hours. Do not open the parcel to baste or look at the meat. Serve with roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables.