Simple roast lamb with honey and soy

We’re now coming into a very good season for spring lamb – and this is a convenient roast which utilises the last of the winter parsnips.
Make sure you use decent, thick, soy sauce (go here to find out a good one) – the watery stuff will, quite literally, not cut the mustard.
This roast goes well with a floret salad (broccoli, cauliflower etc) bejeweled with jet-black olives and ruby-red sunblush tomatoes.
Recipe for simple roast lamb with honey and soy
Serves 4
Ingredients
- half a leg of lamb (about 1 kg/just over 2 lbs)
- 4 tbsps deep, rich soy sauce
- 2 tbsps honey
- 2 tbsps grainy mustard
- 240ml/1 cup of dry cider
- 2 tbsps sun dried tomato paste
- a few sprigs of rosemary
- 500g/just over a pound/about four fat parsnips
- olive oil
- freshly ground pepper
- salt
- 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
- 1 tbsp mint sauce
Method
- Take the lamb out of the fridge and place it in a roasting tin.
- Mix the honey, the soy, the mustard and two tablespoons of cider in a small bowl. Pour it over the lamb to coat. Tuck the sprigs of rosemary around.
- Leave out of the fridge for about an hour until it reaches room temperature.
- When it has reached room temperature, preheat the oven to 210ºC.
- Top the parsnips, and cut into four lengthways.
- Place the parsnips in the roasting tin with the lamb. Drizzle over a little olive oil, and sprinkle over a little salt – only a little as there’s loads of salt in the soy, it’s just to help them crisp up.
- Roast for about fifty minutes, basting every twenty minutes or so and turning the parsnips. If it starts to look dry add a little cider; the parsnips might also need a bit more oil.
- After about fifty minutes, check that the lamb is done, take out and put on a carving board. Cover with foil and leave to rest. Put the parsnips on a warmed plate and keep warm.
- Move the roasting tin to the hob. Add the rest of the cider, the sundried tomato paste, the redcurrant jelly, the mint sauce, and a few grinds of pepper. Boil and reduce.
- Serve the gravy with the lamb and the parsnips.
Below you can listen to Robyn singing Honey: