Roast Lamb is my favourite, I love it hot and then cold and then made into curry or  a proper shepherd's pie but we haven't eaten much lamb as a family since the birth of Fluffy 3 years ago. One of the children looked after her as a pet lamb for several months to the point where Fluffy will still come up and say hello to them.  This is sweet but as a result the child won't let lamb past their lips "in case it is one of Fluffy's friends or relations"!  Where did we go wrong?! As a result of this we have started experimenting with small roasting joints, Michael is now putting mini-roasts of boned and rolled lamb in his diplay counter every week and they are proving popular for mid week roasts and couples who don't want to cook a whole leg.

However with Fluffy's foster parent away at the sea side I decided to try out a recipe I found in the British Food Fortnight  (19th Sept-4th Oct) press pack. It involves wrapping a whole leg of lamb in hay with herbs and cooking it long and slow.  The summer being as it has it's not long since we cut and baled our organic hay meadows, the hay was still green and crispy and we decided that it did add a gently smokey flavour to the lamb (be careful not to set the hay alight!) which stayed juicy and tender in it's blanket.  Could cooking be any easier? Do ask for a free bag of hay with your next leg of lamb!

Leg of  Lamb Baked in Hay with Herb Butter