Spring lamb, many assume, is lamb that is eaten in spring. Unfortunately, lamb that is eaten in spring is actually winter lamb that has lived all its short days inside, having had no time to gambol in the fields getting healthy on fresh grass and sunshine. Instead it comes closest to factory farmed that lamb gets (usually our lamb is the most ‘free range’ of meats, winter lamb excepted). Spring lamb is actually lamb born in the spring and eaten in early summer.

So what then to roast around Easter? Well we can still stay within the Ovis aries family, but will do much better to go for a bit more maturity with a hogget (1 year old) or, for an even fuller flavoured roast, mutton (2+ years), where the animals have been reared slowly, hung well and spent a good deal of time outdoors. You probably won’t find them at your local supermarket, but that just means you can have all the more confidence that your meat has been reared and slaughtered with care and respect.

This Sunday I am cooking mutton - mine is 5 years old, organically and lovingly reared by a farmer in Suffolk who is clearly devoted to his livestock, talk to your meat seller and it will quickly become apparent when they are genuine about their animal husbandry, certified organic or not. 

This is the first time I have ever cooked mutton, which needs serious slow roasting, so I am using a recipe of my dad’s (who is, ironically, a vegetarian), slow cooked lamb with turmeric and lemon a very simple dish with warm North African flavours. It takes about 5-6 hours but the delicious meat that falls away from the bone, suffused with subtle spice is well worth it (if a little maddening for the gorgeous smells emanating from the oven).

I will be serving it with dauphinoise potatoes (no cream or cheese, just a bit of milk and butter) which I find go surprisingly well with this dish. Or you could go the whole hog(get) and serve with a lightly spiced cous-cous. But I like potatoes on a Sunday, well I like potatoes on any day, but especially on a Sunday…

For the roast mutton

Ingredients
Serves 5

One decent size leg of lamb/shoulder of mutton
Three large lemons
A dozen cloves of peeled garlic
A half pot of turmeric powder
Roasting tray
Silver foil

Method/steps

1. Put oven on to heat to 180 C
2. With a sharp knife slice off any excessive white fat, pierce an inch to an inch and a half all over, filling each hole with a peeled clove of garlic, cover with olive oil and salt
3. Place in shallow roasting tray, squeeze over two whole lemons
4. Sprinkle the leg, top and bottom with turmeric powder - be generous, it’s hard to put on too much
5. Once the oven is hot, cover with foil and put in the roast
6. After 20 minutes take it out of oven, remove the foil (save it for later)
7. Baste with the juices in the tin
8. Turn the oven down to low, about 120 C
9. Continue to cook uncovered for at least 5 more hours, basting every twenty minutes with the third lemon to make sure the mixture in the tin stays moist, add a little water if necessary
10. The outside skin, orange from the turmeric, will turn a deep golden brown, the lemon breaks down the excess fat in the meat. If the fat is too plentiful spoon it out and discard
11. Rest the meat for 20 minutes (under the foil) and use the final juice as the sauce or gravy

For the Dauphinoise Potatoes

Ingredients
4 medium potatoes
1 generous slab butter (50g)
250ml milk
S&P

Method/steps

1. Heat oven to 170 C
2. Peel and slice the potatoes in half (lengthways) and then (widthways) into thin half coins
3. Butter a suitable deep dish
4. Put in a layer of potato, dot with butter and sprinkle with S&P, repeat until full
5. Gently pour over the milk and pop in oven for 1h-1h15 (top will be nicely brown and potatoes underneath meltingly soft)