Slow Roast Lamb with Herb & Garlic Rub

1. Heat your oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Fill and boil your kettle. Unwrap the lamb and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Place it on a board and make small cuts all over it with a small sharp knife.

2. Pull 2 cloves from the bulb of garlic, then peel and finely chop them. Pick the leaves off the thyme and rosemary sprigs. Add the herb leaves to the garlic and chop a few times together to combine them. Rub the garlicky mixture all over the lamb, working it into the little cuts. Season the lamb with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. Peel and finely slice the red onions, lay them in the bottom of a small roasting tin, then place the lamb joint on top. Halve the remaining garlic bulb around the middle and place the 2 halves in the tin. Crumble the stock cube into a heatproof jug and stir in 450ml hot water from the kettle to dissolve the stock cube. Pour the stock around the lamb.

4. Cover the roasting tin with a loose layer of foil, scrunching the foil to the edges of the tin to seal it (or pop on a lid if your roasting tin has one). Slide the tin into the oven and roast for 3½ hrs.

5. Take the roasting tin with the lamb out of the oven and remove the foil from the lamb. Turn the oven temperature up to 240°C/Fan 220°C/Gas 9. Return the lamb to the oven for 25 mins to brown it. After 25 mins, take the lamb out of the tin and set aside on a board or warm plate. Loosely cover with foil and leave to rest for at least 30 mins.

6. Remove the garlic bulb halves from the tin and squeeze the soft half-cloves out of them. Pop the squeezed garlic into a cold bowl and pour in all the juices from the tin, along with the onions (the cold bowl will help set the lamb fat quickly so you can scoop it out).

7. 15 mins before you want to serve the lamb, scoop 2 tbsp of fat out of the bowl of roasting tin juices and pop into a pan. Scoop the rest of the fat off the lamb juice and discard. Stir 2 tbsp flour into the fat and cook, stirring for 2-3 mins. Slowly whisk in the juices from the roasting tin till they are smoothly combined. Add 150ml water and whisk that in. Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and bubble gently for 8-10 mins till the gravy thickens.

8. Slice the rested lamb and serve with the gravy.

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