Recipe: Roast Lamb from Three Blue Ducks’ Darren Robertson

During these unprecedented times, when staying at home is of the utmost importance, us here at The AU Review are going to be doing everything we can to help readers live their best lives, indoors.

As with many other media companies who typically focus on getting folks out and about, we’re shifting to adapt to the necessary lock-downs taking place all over the world. One way we’ll be doing so is simply by sharing our favourite recipes.

Over the next few weeks (or months, who knows) we’ll be publishing the cocktail and food recipes that we find most exciting, so that when you aren’t ordering in to support your favourite venues, you’ll know enough to quickly throw together some top-class concoctions.

Roast Lamb from Three Blue Ducks

With venues based in Sydney, Byron and Brisbane, the Three Blue Ducks are known for their passion in sourcing seasonal and local farmed produce. Here we’ve sourced a recipe from Chef Darren Robertson who shares how to make his signature Australian roasted lamb. Capturing the essence of autumn with comforting colours and ingredients such as butternut pumpkin, sweet potatoes and flavours of smoked paprika, it’s a clear winner for family dinner and a perfect meal for a Sunday roast. The recipe serves up to 4 people.

Ingredients – Lamb

• 1 x 1.5kg lamb leg (room temp)
• 3 cloves garlic (grated)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 half small butternut pumpkin
• 1 sweet potato peeled and roughly chopped (Replace veggies and herbs with whatever you have available).
• Pinch smoked paprika
• 2 handfuls of mixed herbs (bay leaves, rosemary, oregano, parsley all work well) – leave some aside some for the dressing Zest of 1 lemon
• I tsp honey

Ingredients – Yoghurt Dressing

• 1 tsp of the remaining lamb marinade mix 1 tbsp chopped roasted pepita
• 6 tbsp yogurt

Ingredients – Watermelon, Tomato and Radish Salad

• A 100g piece of water melon (peeled)
• Half a lime
• 1 handful picked coriander leaves
• 1 handful picked mint leaves
• 1 Lebanese cucumber peeled 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Half a jalapeno chili (if desired) 6 baby red radishes (washed) 1 vine of tomatoes

Method – Lamb

1. Preheat oven to 200 °C
2. Chop the herbs and mix with the garlic, lemon zest, olive oil, paprika and a pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Pop the lamb, pumpkin and sweet potato in a roasting tray (bring the lamb up to room temperature to allow for an even cook).
4. Gently pierce the fat of the lamb leg then cover in the marinade (it’s important to pierce the lamb to let the marinade do its magic).
5. Dress the pumpkin and sweet potato with the same marinade and drizzle a little honey over the pumpkin. Leave a tsp of the marinade for the yogurt sauce.
6. Cook the lamb for 1 hour 15 mins for medium rare or 1 hour 30 mins for medium.
7. Remove lamb, pumpkin and sweet potato from the oven, take out of the tray and rest the lamb for 20 minutes.

Method – Yoghurt Dressing

1. Deglaze the tray with the yogurt and leftover marinade mix, season with a little lemon juice, add pepitas and pour into a bowl.

Method – Watermelon, Tomato and Radish Salad

1. For the salad, wash the radishes and cut them into quarters, dice the
   watermelon, chop the cucumber into irregular shapes and remove the eye from the tomato and roughly dice.
2.  If you like heat, then add very thinly sliced jalapenos.
3. Mix all ingredients into a good size bowl, season with a little salt, pepper, lime juice and olive oil.
4. Add the herbs, toss and serve.

Method – Serving

1. Carve the lamb against the grain. Serve up with veggies, yogurt sauce and salad.

Use up your leftover lamb in sandwiches with mustard and pickles or toss through a beetroot rocket and hazelnut salad. For more leftover lamb recipe ideas visit australianlamb.com.au