Marinade for a leg of lamb

Ingredients

• 1 x 1.8kg (4lb) leg of lamb
• 200g (7oz) plain yoghurt
• 30ml (2 tbsp) tomato purée
• 60ml (4 tbsp) red wine
• 60ml (4 tbsp) olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 bay leaves, crushed
• 5ml (1 tsp) caster sugar
• 5ml (1 tsp) salt
• 2.5ml (1⁄2 tsp) black pepper
• 5ml (1 tsp) cayenne

Method

Remove the skin and fat from the lamb, exposing as much flesh as possible.

Make incisions all over the leg with a small sharp knife. Mix the marinade ingredients together and pour over the lamb, rubbing it into the incisions. Leave the lamb to marinate, covered somewhere cool, for 24 hours if you can, and for at least an hour if you can’t.

To cook: Drain the lamb from its marinade but don’t wipe it clean.

Roast it for 1¼ hours at 190°c (375°f) Gas mark 5 (this will give you pink lamb), then cover it with foil and insulate it (I keep a pile of old towels for this) to keep it warm.

Leave it for 15 minutes to let the juices set.

Extracted from Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons: Enchanting dishes from the Middle East, Mediterranean and North Africa by Diana Henry, published by Mitchell Beazley, £20, www.octopusbooks.co.uk