Tapenade crusted roast lamb and watercress

Spring is finally here and this thin, crispy blanket of anchovies, capers and olives provides the perfect salty accompaniment to a roasted leg of lamb.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 6

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Tapenade

1 garlic clove, crushed

Juice of 1 lemon

3 tbsp capers,
finely chopped

6 anchovy fillets,
finely chopped

250g black olives, pitted and finely chopped

Small bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped

2–4 tbsp olive oil

Lamb

½ leg of lamb weighing approx. 1kg

1½ whole head of garlic, plus 1 large clove
cut into slivers

20g fresh rosemary

1 tsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed

2 tbsp olive oil,
plus a little extra

100ml lamb stock

And the rest

60g watercress

6 tsp English mustard

12 slices of granary

To make the tapenade, mix all the ingredients together, adding enough olive oil to form a paste and season to taste.

Using a sharp knife, make slits 3–4cm deep into the flesh. Spread half the tapenade over the surface, pushing it down into the slits. Push the garlic slivers into the slits as well, together with a few small sprigs of the rosemary. Sprinkle the meat with the coriander seeds and season.

Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Oil a roasting tin and lay most of the remaining rosemary in it. Set the lamb on top, season with salt then drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil and roast for 20 minutes.

Reduce the heat to 180ºC. Break up the head of garlic into cloves and place them around the lamb, then drizzle over the remaining oil. Pour in the stock and cover with foil.

Continue to cook the lamb for another 45 minutes, depending on how well done you like it. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking, basting the lamb and garlic.

Remove the lamb and garlic from the oven and put them on to a serving plate. Loosely cover with foil and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Spread a teaspoon of English mustard on 6 slices of bread, then carve the lamb and divide it between the 6 sandwiches along with the watercress. Finally, top them off with the remaining slices of bread.