Tender Slow Roast Sicilian Lamb with Potatoes and Garden Herbs. Today, I am sharing a simple approach to preparing a delicious roasted leg of lamb. This lamb recipe focuses on natural flavors, ensuring a tender and juicy result through careful cooking meat techniques. We will also prepare potatoes and carrots alongside, making for a complete and satisfying roast lamb recipe that’s perfect for any occasion. is one of those beautiful family meals that fills the kitchen with warmth, rosemary, lemon, garlic, and the comforting smell of a proper roast.
This my Sicilian way using garden rosemary, sage, lemon zest, garlic, olive oil, and dry white wine. It is simple, deeply flavourful, and perfect for a Sunday lunch, spring family table, or whenever you find a good leg of lamb on offer and want to make something special without waste.
The lamb is gently cut to help the flavours travel deeper, then massaged with a rustic Sicilian herb marinade made from fresh rosemary, sage, lemon zest, chilli, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Garlic is tucked into the cuts, the vegetables roast alongside in the same tray, and the whole dish is protected with baking paper to keep everything moist before browning beautifully at the end.
I also show you how to turn the roasting juices and white wine into a simple homemade sauce that Julie loves, using just a little cornflour and cold water.
This is slow food in the best sense: simple ingredients, patience, and wonderful flavour.
If you make it, let me know where you are in the world and how much lamb costs where you live.
Ciao,
Francesco
INGREDIENTS
1 leg of lamb (approx. 2 kg)
4 large white potatoes
2 sweet potatoes
4 carrots
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
8 to 10 sage leaves
zest of 1 lemon
1 fresh chilli
1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
6 to 8 garlic cloves
300 ml dry white wine
extra virgin olive oil
salt
black pepper
Optional sauce
roasting juices
2½ tsp cornflour
3 tbsp cold water
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Score the lamb lightly on both sides with a knife. Finely chop rosemary, sage, lemon zest, fresh chilli, and chilli flakes into a rustic herb pulp. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper to create the marinade.
Peel and cut the white potatoes into large chunks. Peel the sweet potatoes into large chunks and leave the carrots whole. Season the lamb with salt and insert garlic cloves into the cuts.
Massage the herb marinade all over the lamb, pushing some into the cuts.
Toss the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots with the remaining marinade.
Arrange vegetables around the lamb in a roasting tray. Pour 300 ml dry white wine over the vegetables only. Drizzle olive oil over everything, cover loosely with baking paper and roast at 200°C for 20 minutes. Lower to 160°C for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove the paper for the final 20 minutes, increasing to 180°C for browning. Rest briefly, slice, and serve with the roasted vegetables.
Optional sauce
Pour the tray juices into a saucepan, add the cornflour mixed with cold water, and cook gently until thickened.
00:00 Choosing lamb on offer
01:36 Sicilian herb and lemon marinade
03:13 Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots
04:31 Garlic into the lamb cuts
05:33 Marinating lamb and vegetables
06:26 White wine and oven method
07:34 Final browning and homemade sauce
08:32 Tasting the lamb, potatoes, and sauce
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26 Comments
Ciao everyone, this is one of those beautiful slow family meals that fills the whole house with rosemary, lemon, garlic, and warmth. I love making this when I find lamb on offer because it proves that even something that feels expensive can become a very practical and special meal. If you make it, let me know where you are in the world and how much lamb costs near you because I would genuinely love to compare. Ciao, Francesco
I bought 3 shoulder chops this past week… 1.53 pounds & cost $18 which was in my opinion expensive a leg of lamb cost around $60 about the size that you have there… by the time you roast it, it shrivels up into half the size and it’s just the experience of tasting lamb rather than eating lamb!!! I live in the US!!!
Just bought a leg of lamb on special here in New Zealand, it’s is $NZ18 a kilo (about £8) will try your delicious looking recipe for Easter. Thank you.
Out Easter lamb was $2.96/lb or 3.68 pounds/kilo if I converted correctly. This is different for us because we used to raise sheep out west, and had our own lamb for many years. My very English wife insists on mint sauce, which is always a creative opportunity!
I live in Surrey UK and buy from my friend who is a hobby farmer and I buy half a butchered lamb about three times a year, currently priced at £120 for half a lamb, not sure what that is in kilos but he also breeds Soay lamb which is exceptional and also hogget, I buy all three types that he breeds. I'd rather pay for high quality, high welfare meat from someone I trust and that's truly local and it's been decades since I've bought meat from a supermarket, I can see his pigs from my allotment. I buy a quarter of a butchered pig a couple of times a year from him too, his pork mince which I cook into a fennel and tomato ragu for pasta is absolutely divine! He has very small flocks and only sends a few animals to slaughter at a time, traveling a very short distance in the early morning in a small trailer hitched to his jeep to avoid traffic, heat and minimise stress. I also buy poultry and beef from another local farmer who operates on a larger scale but is still very much a family run small scale high welfare farm. Quality and provenance of my food is very important to me, keeping things as local as possible and growing what I can. I buy wisely and don't eat meat daily, I have fish once or twice a week and where possible what's been caught of the south coast, usually mackerel, sardines, plaice and bass, and we eat a lot of pulses and vegetables.
Thank you for your recipe, I will be defrosting some lamb to cook as per your recipe this coming Sunday, it looks delicious, I think I will use cooking string to secure the paper on the top of the tray as things tend to waft around in the fan oven.
Also, in the US, we have cooking bags, Reynolds, cooking bags, a brand name, and they’re clear and you could put a whole 24 pound turkey in it and cook it at for about 2 1/2 hours and it will come out juicy and browned… the same with lamb if you put a leg of lamb in it, you will retain all the juices and it will be browned and only might take about an hour and a half to two hours to cook it, this is the best way that I recommend cooking lamb in the oven…
I was still waiting for a dinner invitation!!!
Buona pasqua
Ciao Francesco 😊 You have made one of my favorite dishes, and I love your marinade 😋 along with carrots and both potatoes!
YUMMM and thank you for sharing.
I do not make myself, but do get from 2 Greek restaurants, every other week because I CRAVE!!.
Therefore I do not know the price of in store, however these are the prices of my orders from either restaurants. 2 pieces of double cut lambchops $58.00 or a rack of lamb (6 rib) $70.00. Both includes 1 side of choice … and the other restaurant, 3 lambchops $46 with side of choice.
However expensive, the Taste is delightful and well prepared, and I'm worth it! ☺️😉
Lamb….potatoes…I am so happy❤❤❤
That looks incredible Francesco , and so easy ; 10 – 15 minutes to prepare and the oven does the rest . So true , if you have a Clubcard , Nectar card , or whatever , you can buy at a reasonable price . Another example , as you well know , is the root vegetables on offer at the moment for 15p . Grazie per la ricetta , e buona pasqua a voi due 🙏🤝
Sooooo good. 😍😍😍 Such a lovely dish and perfect for family get togethers.. so lovely to see people will try it this Easter.
🐣🐣Happy Easter everyone 🐣🐣
I'm going to call this …
THE ROAST Hack of Lamb
Very interesting !!
I paid 30 Canadian dollars NZ lamb leg same size
This looked great. I believe im going to use a beef shank first though simply because beef is culess expensive than lamb. But both wound be great. Have a great day 🌤 🍖😋🍷
Interesting recipe, never cut into my lamb leg. No leg for me this year, it was $45.00 USD. Got T-bone style chops, 5 pack for $12.00. Lamb loves rosemary and garlic. Some people like sauce (gravy) and some like bread with every meal. Teehee. If you put the full measure of salt in one hand, salt and flip, salt, you won't get your salt cellar dirty touching it. Hi from rainy Oregon, US.
I love love love lamb
I live in Illinois in the u.s, and not only is lamb expensive, but it is very hard to find in grocery stores. Aldi usually has 2 or 3 pkgs of ribs, or chops, or a bit of roast. But not consistently or predictably.. meanwhile sheep are walking around everywhere. Hahahaha
When i can get white tail deer roast, i cook with olive oil , rosemary, and garlic just like lamb. Its good!
Buona pasqua to you and your family! 🪺🐰 I love watching your roasts, slowly cooked, juicy and tender, as they should be. Having lived in the UK for some time, it made me smile how you combine Mediterranean spices with British gravy.
Yes, in New Zealand it is very expensive! Wanted to buy one for Easter, change of plans unfortunately 😮. Its like we paying exporting prices !
Here in Massachusetts we pay almost $100 for a 8lb leg of lamb. RIDICULOUS!!! It doubled in price in last 6 years.
You have an excellent, attentative style of presenting. I have just eaten a meatball pasta bake and I am now drooling after watching this. Great tips as well. I have subscribed and I am looking forward to some more wonderful recipes. Good luck Francesco 👍
I live in London and the price of leg of lamb in my local supermarket seems to vary quite a lot but the heavier ones tend to be more expensive than the lighter ones.
In Australia it’s expensive
Just had this for Easter Sunday – delicious!
Theres people who dont like garlic? Poor them