roast lamb with rosemary, garlic and gravy

I'm never sure why people say they do not like lamb. It is truely one of the best tasting meats. The depth of flavour certainly can match good beef and is easily better than chicken or pork.
Maybe it is because of mint sauce, that insipid green goo, a far cry from the fresh plant. Lamb is best in a french style, with rosemary, garlic and anchovy.
Take a leg of lamb, about 250g to 400 per person depending on how hungry you are. Using a sharp knife make several incisions in the skin side of the meat, the white fatty bit. Around a dozen in a piece for two people and then take your finger and push it right into each hole, get at least your finger tip inside, ideally to the second knuckle. The reason for this slightly cold and a bit icky task is to allow you to pack more of the rosemary, garlic and anchovy to flavour the meat.
Cut the garlic into pieces an inch or so long and a couple of matchsticks thick, chop the anchovy into bits about half an inch long and for the rosemary snap it into lengths of around 1-2 inches. Having assembled your flavouring ingredients put the anchovy into each hole first, then some garlic and finally some rosemary, some of which will poke out, but this doesn't matter. I have not said how much of these too use, as it depends on the bit of meat you have, but a small handful of rosemary, say 3-4 branches, two big cloves or garlic and a couple of anchovy fillets will be fine for two people. Stuff it until some pops out from another hole, you really can use a lot more than you think.
Do take care though when making the incisions not too allow them to intersect, the meat will hold together better if you keep the holes roughly parallel to one another. If there is fat on the bottom of the meat, trim it off and use a bit of rosemary to pin it to the top of the joint, as this will help keep it moist, see picture.
The instructions on lamb are often for medium, so around 25 minutes per pound/500g plus 10-15 minutes should give you medium rare at 190°C. Do leave it to rest for 10 minutes, the meat relaxes and releases some juices, which makes carving easier.



The other thing I don't get is bisto and fake gravy. Once you have roasted the above, you'll have a mixture of meat juices and some fat in the bottom of the tin. Add the rest of the juices from the rested meat, plus half a glass of the wine you are drinking and about the same amount of water. Add a bit of plain flour and stir and reduce, the gravy will darken a bit and become glossy. Warm a jug and decant into it, you can carefully pour off the fat first, as it floats if you are feeling healthy.