My Prodigal Son – Roast Leg of Wicklow Lamb Studded With Garlic and Rosemary

Yes, I do have a son. This my come as a surprise to some of you. It would be a surprise for the Wife if I had not come clean on the matter with her. Before I get into that, I’ll bet you know the parable of the prodigal son. I’ll also bet you that you have never referred to somebody as being “prodigal”. You have never rolled down the car window and shouted; “Ohi, You. You Prodigal. Move that heap.” Or perhaps, you ladies, behind a gloved hand, over a double frappachino laté, whispered to a friend; “She is sooooo prodigal. I don’t know how her parents put up with her.” Admit it to yourself. You probably don’t even know the exact meaning of the word.

Here’s the top three as an adjective:

1. Extravagantly wasteful
2. Producing generous amounts
3. Wasting parental money
   Look up the nouns and adverbs yourself if you are really interested.

Now, back to my son. He is only prodigal in the proverbial sense in that he went away and returned home. Literally, from the proverb. He has to remain nameless because he has birth parents. I am not one of them (or the other one). This all came about when I was involved in a heated debate with my daughters and some of their friends about youngest daughter refusing to befriend me on Facebook (a common parental condition by all accounts). My soon to be son pointed out that his dad was not even on Facebook and he then volunteered to be my Internet Son taking the place of Offline Daughter in the online world. Anybody looking at my Facebook profile can see him there. I am a proud Dad.

Life goes on and our offline paths have not crossed for a while. That was until he heard I was cooking Roast Leg of Wicklow Lamb Studded With Garlic and Rosemary, served with a Red Wine Gravy, Parsnips, Carrots and New Season Potatoes.

 Here’s what you will need

• A leg of Wicklow lamb
• Plenty of garlic
• Plenty of rosemary
• Plenty of potatoes (he’s a growing lad)
• Carrots and parsnips
• Seasoning and oil
• Flour to make the gravy
  

  The ingredients. Well, most of them anyway. I neglected the salt, flour, pepper and oil. Dammit.

Here’s what to do
Heat the oven to 200C. Peel and slice your garlic into halves or thirds.

Time to get stabby. You have to get very stabby. Stab it all over.

Stab the lamb and insert the garlic. Yes, there will be lots of stabbing required. Repeat the process with the rosemary.

Stabbed and studded with garlic and rosemary. It takes time but it’s worth it.

Oil, season and roast in the oven until cooked.

This is the gratuitous meat shot of this post. Not really needed to make any point. It was this or the potatoes….

Some people like their lamb rare. Some like it completely overdone and destroyed. I cooked mine for an hour and three-quarters.

Roasted, ready to carve. Note the garlic starting to escape. Sorry there are no action carving shots but the hungry hoard had me under pressure.

While the lamb is resting, add a level tablespoon of flour to the roasting tin and stir until there is a congealed dark brown mess. Gradually add some water and heat on the hob. Throw in a glass of wine. Stir, taste, season, stir taste, season, stir, taste, until you are happy with the flavour and consistency.

At this stage of your personal development, you should know how to boil potatoes and oven roast some carrots and parsnips. If you don’t, close down your computer and order in a takeaway, it’s all you are fit for. If you are still here, carve, plate, serve, eat.

Lamb plated and ready to serve. Going cold in fact. Note the studded garlic stuck in the slices. Delicious but don’t go kissing anybody who wasn’t there for the meal.

The day of his arrival was a self-fulfilling prophecy. I was cooking the meal so my son returned and he was returning, so I cooked the meal. It was good to see him again. My two birth/wallet children enjoyed the meal too.