For many, lamb is considered a traditionally “Easter Dish” but in our house growing up, traditional Christmas meals comprised of anything from a stuffed Roast Chicken, a whole roasted fillet, or a fall off the bone tender leg of lamb.
Instant Pot has really changed the way I do holidays. Christmas days were traditionally spent with 4 or 5 adults in the kitchen, all fighting over kitchen counter space, with hours of prep work. In Africa, with Hot Christmases it was the absolute worst! What I love most about this recipe is that the prep work in minimal, giving you more time to spend with your loved ones over the holiday period, and less time in the kitchen. Order your leg of lamb de-boned from the butcher to allow it to fit comfortably into your instant pot. I like to keep it simple with the meat, pairing it with rosemary, garlic, thyme and some ground chilli flakes for a little kick.
Roll up the deboned leg of lamb and tie with string to keep its shape, then make little slits all over the lamb and stuff it with garlic slivers. Next, finely mince the rosemary, thyme and mix it with olive oil, salt and pepper. Rub a little oil over the lamb and rub the seasonings into it. Place whole crushed garlic cloves and sticks of rosemary into the centre of the meat. Allow to marinade for a minimum of 2 hours ( I like to leave it overnight).
Switch on your Instant Pot to the saute button and adjust the heat to high. Sear both sides of the lamb roast for about 4-5 minutes. Β Hit the cancel button.
Remove the lamb and de-glaze your pot with about a cup of water. Return the lamb and cook for between 1 to 1 hour 15 minutes. I had a leg just over 1kg, so I cooked mine for roughly 55 minutes, but it’s important to allow for a full Natural Pressure Release. If you really want to brown your lamb before serving you can stick in under the grill for 5 minutes before serving.
Once you remove your delicious, juicy lamb, make a little cornflour slurry with cornflour and water and switch your pot back onto Saute mode. Throw in the cornflour mixture, and ass a knob of butter for the most delicious gravy.
Serve with honey glazed baby carrots, crispy roast potatoes, buttery green beans and a drizzle of mint sauce for a delicious English roast meal!
For more festive meal ideas check out this cranberry and orange roast chicken recipe!
Festive Roast Lamb
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 1-2 kg deboned leg of lamb
- 10 cloves garlic
- handful fresh rosemary
- handful fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
- salt and pepper
- Olive Oil
- 2 tsps Cornflour to create gravy
Instructions
- Start by rolling up your de-boned lamb, if this has not already been done for you.
- Cut slits into the meat and insert your garlic pods, I cut mine into half or thirds and evenly distributive throughout your meat. You can also shove in some rosemary sprigs.
- In the center of the lamb insert 2 to 3 crushed garlic cloves and a few more sprigs of rosemary
- Rub olive oil all over your meat and season with Salt, fresh black pepper and red chilli flakes and thyme.
- Switch your IP onto Saute mode, throw in a knob of butter and a glug of olive oil. Brown your lamb evenly on both sides.
- Remove lamb from the pot and deglaze with about 3/4 cup of water
- Return back to the pot, put the lid on and switch to Pressure Cook, "high". Depending on the size of the meat select your cook time. For a 1kg I would recommend 50 minutes to 1 hour. For a 2kg I would probably suggest about 1 hour 15 minutes. Once cook time has completed allow pressure to release naturally. (approx 20 minutes).
- Remove your lamb and allow to rest before carving (If you prefer a browner meat you can grill it for 5 minutes in the oven.
- Whilst the meat is resting, create a cornflour slurry with about 2 teaspoons of cornflour and a little cold water to mix. Hit saute mode again and add the slurry to the remaining liquid and stir to mix up the most delicious gravy.
- Serve with traditional crispy roast potatoes, sweet orange glazed baby carrots, green beans and spinach. Have some mint sauce on the side for a spectacular traditional English roast lamb !
