Ingredients
Leg of lamb, about 2.3kg/5lb
For the spice rub
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp sea salt flakes
pinch of sweet paprika
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp thyme leaves
2 tbsp olive oil
thick slice butter
For the chickpea mash
2 x 400g tin chickpeas, rinsed
1 small onion, finely sliced
3-4 tbsp olive oil
hot paprika
Method
Set the oven at 160C/320F/Gas 3. Make the spice rub: peel the garlic cloves, then lightly crush them with the salt, using a pestle and mortar. Mix in the sweet paprika, cumin seeds and thyme leaves. Gradually add the olive oil so that you end up with a thickish paste. Melt the butter in a small pan and stir it into the spice paste.
Put the lamb into a casserole or roasting tin and rub it all over with the spice paste, either with the back of a spoon or with your hands. Put it in the oven and leave for thirty-five minutes. Pour in 250ml/9fl oz of water and baste the lamb with the liquid, then continue roasting for three hours, basting the meat every hour with the juices that have collected in the bottom of the pan.
Remove the pan from the oven and pour off the top layer of oil, leaving the cloudy, herbal sediment in place. Cover the pan with a lid and set aside for ten minutes or so.
Carve the lamb, serving with the mashed chickpeas below, spooning the pan juices over both as you go.
