Small adventures in cooking: Spice-roasted leg of lamb with cumin potatoes

A leg of lamb is one of the most handsome and generous things you can cook for your friends. Simply roasted with lots of rosemary and garlic there is an understated beauty to it, compared with something more Neanderthal like a rib of beef. It's probably my favourite Sunday lunch: familiar and comforting. But marinated in spices and almonds and roasted to a soft, medium pinkness, it is utterly stupendous - as aromatic as a Mumbai breeze and spicier than a DH Lawrence novel.

Serves 8-10

a bunch of coriander
2 tsp ground coriander
2 shallots, peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
4 fresh bird's-eye chillies stalks removed
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
4 tbsp ground almonds
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
1 x 2.5kg leg of lamb
salt and pepper
1.5kg new potatoes
1 tbsp cumin seeds

If you have one, put the fresh and ground coriander, shallots, garlic, chillies, yoghurt, almonds and lemon juice in a blender and whiz to a smooth paste, pouring in a little oil as you go until it's of spreadable consistency. If blenderless, you'll need to chop the coriander, shallots, garlic and chillies separately as fine as you possibly can and mix with the ground coriander, yoghurt, almonds and lemon juice in a bowl, loosening up with a little oil.

Slash the lamb a few times on the skin-side with a sharp knife, and rub all over with the paste.

Leave to marinate for at least a couple of hours or ideally overnight. Just make sure you take the lamb out of the fridge at least an hour before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Season the lamb with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 1½ hours. About an hour into cooking, cut the potatoes into equal-size chunks and bring to a boil in a pan of salted water. Remove the lamb from the oven and rest, loosely covered in foil.

Meanwhile, put a frying pan over a medium heat and add the cumin seeds. Once you can smell the aroma of the spice, remove from the heat and lightly crush in a pestle and mortar. When the potatoes are cooked, drain and toss in the crushed cumin, seasoning with salt and pepper.

Carve the lamb and serve with the potatoes and some mango chutney or perhaps a coriander salad.

Recipe from Small Adventures in Cooking by James Ramsden (£14.99, Quadrille)