LEG BONES RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas 3.
  2. In a snug-fitting high-sided roasting tray, rub the lamb all over with a little oil and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Add a splash of water to the tray, then roast for 4 hours, or until the meat is tender and will fall away from the bone.
  3. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tray, then lift the lamb out onto a board, take all the meat and crispy skin off the bone and roughly chop it, reserving the bones.
  4. Skim away any fat from the tray and pop it into a clean jam jar. Add a splash of boiling water to the tray and stir around to pick up all the lovely sticky bits from the bottom. Keep it all to one side.
  5. For the filling, peel and roughly dice the onions, carrots, celery and swede, then put them into your biggest pan on a medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of reserved lamb fat. Strip in the rosemary leaves, then fry the veg for 20 minutes, or until lightly caramelised, stirring regularly.
  6. Stir in the flour, lamb, bones and tray juices, then pour in 1.5 litres of water. Bring to the boil, then put the lid on and reduce to a gentle simmer for 40 minutes, or until you’ve got a loose, stew-like consistency, stirring occasionally.
  7. To guarantee intense gravy and a tender but dense filling, remove and discard the bones, then place a large coarse sieve over a pan and, in batches, spoon the lamb stew into the sieve. Let the gravy drip through, and after a couple of minutes, when you get a dense pile of meat and veg in the sieve, transfer that to a bowl, leaving the gravy in the pan.
  8. Separately freeze half the cool meat and gravy for another day.
  9. For the topping, sides and bottom, peel and roughly chop the potatoes and cook in boiling salted water for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain and leave to steam dry, then add the butter, grate in half the cheese, season to perfection with salt and pepper, mash well and cool completely.
  10. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
  11. Use a little reserved lamb fat to grease the inside of a large pie dish (25cm x 30cm), then pick and tear over the rosemary leaves and sprinkle with half the breadcrumbs – they’ll stick to the fat and add an incredible crunch.
  12. A handful at a time, press the cooled mash into the dish, covering the bottom and sides with a 1cm-thick layer. Spoon in the filling and a couple of spoonfuls of gravy, smooth out, then top with the remaining mash, pat it flat, scuff it up with a fork and pinch it at the edges.
  13. Grate over the rest of the cheese, scatter with the remaining breadcrumbs and drizzle lightly with oil. Importantly, bake on the bottom of the oven for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until crisp and golden.
  14. Warm your gravy through (reducing if desired), then serve the pie with loads of seasonal greens or peas and lots of condiments.

Steps:

• Make the stuffing: place the porcini in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for at least 45 minutes, or up to several hours, until soft. Lift porcini out of the liquid, drain on paper towels, chop and set aside. Strain the soaking liquid, leaving behind any grit in the bottom of the bowl, and set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausages and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking the meat apart with a fork as it browns. Add mushrooms, shallots and garlic, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes more, stirring from time to time, until the vegetables are tender.
• Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Stir in bread cubes, rosemary, spinach and egg and mix well. Moisten with about 1/4 cup reserved mushroom liquid. The stuffing should be slightly moist but not wet. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside, or refrigerate if not using immediately. (The stuffing is best made a day ahead and refrigerated, but don’t stuff the meat ahead, as it can spoil.)
• Cook the meat: let the roast stand at room temperature for 4 hours before roasting. Heat the oven to 450 degrees, with a rack in the lower third of the oven.
• Using a long sharp knife, cut the roast between the bones and the meat so that the rack of ribs is almost severed from the meat, leaving about 3/4 inch of the meat attached to the bones. Place the roast on a flat surface so that you are looking down into the crevices between the bones and meat. Spread the stuffing into each crevice, using a rubber spatula to pack it in. (If you have extra stuffing, bake it in a buttered uncovered casserole dish for 30 minutes.) Tie the bones back in place with a couple of loops of butcher’s twine to keep the stuffing inside.
• Combine the garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, fennel seeds and oil in a small bowl. Generously rub the mixture over the top and sides of the roast and bones. Place a large V-shape roasting rack in a roasting pan and nestle the roast on the rack so that the bones are sticking straight up. Wrap the bone tips in aluminum foil to prevent burning.
• Roast for 20 minutes, then turn down the oven to 350 degrees and roast until the internal temperature is about 120 degrees. If you are not using a continuous-read thermometer, begin monitoring the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer after 45 minutes, checking the temperature every 15 minutes at the thickest part of the roast. When the roast is done (usually 1 1/4 to 2 hours), set aside, covered loosely with aluminum foil, to rest for at least 20 minutes and up to 45 minutes before carving and serving. The temperature will rise 10 to 15 degrees as it rests.
• To carve and serve, remove the twine from the roast. Place the roast on a cutting board so that the bones are vertical. Sever the strip of meat attached to the bones and spoon the stuffing into a serving bowl. Set the bones aside, and turn the roast so the bone side lies flat. Cut the roast into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange in an overlapping row on a serving platter.
• Slice between the bones to separate them and add to the platter. Pour any carving juices over the meat and serve.