Rock this out for NZ Roast Day – the perfect time to try this interesting combination and roast meat feast. This is a mouth-watering roast recipe from comedian and TV presenter Leigh Hart… Lamb Roast with Pork Crackling – aka Roast Lork! Enjoy both tender and juicy lamb roast and crispy pork crackling in one – ultimate roast dinner for meat lovers.
Ingredients
FOR THE MEAT
1.2-1.5kg lamb leg or shoulder
One piece of pork skin with fat for the crackling, ask your butcher to prepare this for you
A little brown sugar, salt and pepper to rub into the meat
Olive oil
FOR THE POTATOES
1 kg small roasting potatoes
Olive oil
Salt
FOR THE TOMATOES
8 – 10 medium tomatoes, cut in half, cores removed
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
FOR THE CARROTS
500g baby carrots
¼ tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt to season
How to cook delicious roast lork
Prepare your pork skin a day ahead by leaving it uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry it out. This makes the crackling crispier.
On the day, preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Season the lamb roast by rubbing into the skin a mixture of brown sugar, salt and pepper. Rub with olive oil, place in a roasting pan.
Cook lamb for 15 minutes or until the top is browned, then reduce the temperature to 120 degrees celsius and roast the meat for 1 1/2 hours or until cooked through.
While the lamb is roasting, prepare and cook the vegetables.
For the smashed potatoes, clean the potatoes and using a small knife, slice a cross into the top of each potato to make for easy squashing later. Drizzle oil over potatoes and season with salt and bake for an hour or until tender. Remove from the oven and crush each potato with the back of a fork and drizzle with a little more oil and a sprinkle more flaky salt and ground pepper. Bake for another ½ hour or until golden brown and crispy.
For the slow-roasted tomatoes, place the tomatoes in shallow roasting dish, sprinkle with the brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast for one hour at 120 degrees celsius.
For the carrots, bring a cup of water to the boil in a medium saucepan. Add ¼ tsp salt and carrots and cook until tender, about five to six minutes. Drain the carrots and add back to saucepan with butter, honey and lemon juice. Cook until a glaze coats the carrots, about five minutes. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley before serving.
Once lamb is cooked, remove from the oven and turn the oven to grill. Drape the pork skin over the lamb, securing it with a few skewers if you need to, and place it under the grill until it bubbles and blisters to a nice crackle.
Serve lamb with tomatoes, smashed potatoes and glazed carrots. And crackling of course!
