SERVES 6

Apples and cider go wonderfully with lamb. The apples break down on cooking and help thicken the sauce.

1 leg of lamb, about 2kg, fat trimmed and skin scored
Olive oil, to drizzle
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3-4 garlic cloves, skins on and halved
A few sprigs of thyme
Juice from half a lemon
4 Russet or Braeburn apples
500ml medium cider
Runny honey, to drizzle
300ml lamb or chicken stock

1 Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7. Weigh the lamb and calculate the final cooking time at 12 minutes per 450g for medium-rare, 15 minutes per 450g for medium. Score the fat in a criss-cross pattern, then drizzle with a little olive oil and rub all over with salt and pepper. Place in a deep roasting pan and scatter the garlic and thyme over and around. Pour over the lemon juice and drizzle again with olive oil. Sprinkle with a little more seasoning, then roast in the hot oven for 20 minutes.

2 Slice the apples into quarters and cut off the cores. Remove the lamb from the oven and reduce the heat to 180C/Gas 4. Scatter the apples around the pan and pour the cider over the lamb, then turn it over and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of honey. Return to the oven for 30 minutes.

3 Turn the lamb round, baste the meat with the pan juices, then drizzle over another tablespoon of honey. Continue to roast for the calculated time. To check, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the lamb, then press the meat lightly: the redder the juices, the rarer the meat. Lift the lamb on to a carving board and cover with a piece of kitchen foil. Rest it in a warm place while you prepare the gravy.

4 At this point, the apples and garlic in the roasting pan should be very soft. Tip the contents of the pan into a fine sieve set over a saucepan. Push down with the back of a ladle to extract all the juices and flavour, then discard the pulp. Place the pan over a medium heat and add the stock. Bring to the boil and let it bubble vigorously until it has thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then pour into a warm serving jug. Carve the lamb into thin slices and serve drizzled with the apple and cider gravy.

Recipe taken from Cooking for Friends, published by HarperCollins on September 15. Text © Gordon Ramsay 2008

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