My father has always been a guiding light and inspiration in the search for good food. His love of French and Italian fare has also meant that he has mastered the language to make travelling comfortable and eating out a joy.

Many years ago we were sitting as a family in a piazza in Rome, having finished our meal. My father ordered some cheese; when it came he felt that it cried out for fresh onion. He summoned the waiter and asked for some raw onion in his finest Italian. The waiter was somewhat confused and questioned his order. Dad, understanding that the pairing of onion and cheese may have been somewhat odd to the Italian, repeated himself.

After 20 minutes the waiter returned with the “onion”. Only then did it become apparent that my father’s spoken Italian was not as perfect as we all thought. A freshly roasted leg of lamb was his “onion”. What are you going to do, I asked. “Eat it of course, it looks bloody good.”

Ingredients
Serves 4

Prep: 20 min
Cooking: 90 min

2.5kg (approximately) leg of lamb, boned and rolled, with the shin bone left attached.
4 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into slivers
2 small branches of rosemary
4 anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped
2tsp sea salt
3tbsp olive oil
1tbsp butter
200ml white wine
250ml strong lamb stock
8 large leeks, trimmed and washed
150g unsalted butter
250ml whipping cream
3tbsp chopped fresh mint

METHOD: Preheat the oven to 220C. Take a sharp, narrow-bladed knife and cut holes in the lamb, about 15 in total. Stuff each hole with a piece of garlic, a rosemary leaf or two and a piece of anchovy.

Place the lamb in a large Le Creuset cast-iron roasting pan and rub the salt generously all over the outside of the joint. Then leave it to one side for one hour to allow the flavours in the salt to do their bit. Drizzle over the olive oil, dot with butter and transfer the pan to the oven. After 20 minutes baste the lamb, pour in the white wine and reduce the oven temperature to 180C. Cook for a further 15 minutes per 500g for a nice rosy medium. Don’t forget to continue to baste the meat with the surrounding liquid.

Remove from the oven and transfer the lamb to a platter and keep warm while you finish the gravy. Place the roasting pan directly on the hob, bring the contents to a boil and add the lamb stock. Reduce this liquor until you have a nice flavourful gravy, taking care not to make it too salty. If it is a little too salty for your taste, bring it back to the boil and whisk in a couple of generous knobs of butter.

Finely slice the leek into rounds. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan and add the leeks. Season with salt and pepper, add a splash of water, cover and cook on the gentlest of heats for about 30 minutes or until completely softened. Remove the lid, add the cream and cook for a further 15 minutes or until the cream has thickened sufficiently to coat the leeks. Stir in the mustard and mint, check the seasoning and serve along with the lamb.

Carve the lamb and serve with the leeks and gravy.

Adapted from Henry Harris’s A Passion for Protein, Quadrille, £14.99.

Times Recommends

• Three recipes for Dover sole
• The perfect summer wine list
• Urban Farmer: courgette ideas