This week we’re wrapping up our culinary tour of Wales, and we’re going out in style. We haven’t done an elaborate meal in a while, so we took advantage of the gorgeous, lazy day with nothing on our calendar. We went back to our Welsh cookbook and found a recipe for Honeyed Welsh Lamb. Honey, rosemary, lamb and roasted goodness sounded perfect for this crisp fall Sunday.
We made lamb a while back, when we were sampling some New Zealand recipes and Mr. N ate his shank literally to the bone. Today he was on hand to help season our six pound leg of lamb with salt and pepper. 
We then gathered the rest of the seasonings, fresh rosemary, honey and garlic. We minced one spring of rosemary and two cloves of garlic. 
We then brushed the lamb with four tablespoons of honey which we purchased locally and is seasoned with rosemary. 
We topped the lamb with the minced rosemary and garlic and placed two more sprigs of rosemary over the top of the leg. We then formed a tent with tinfoil over the lamb and placed it in the oven at 400F. 
We roasted the lamb for 15 minutes at 400F and then reduced the heat to 350F. The lamb cooks for about 20 minutes per pound. We were aiming for a medium rare cut which meant we were looking at about two hours or roasting time. When there was about 20 minutes to go, we removed the tinfoil to allow the skin to crisp and brown. 
We then prepared some bosc and red pears by cutting them in half, coring them and slicing each half into fifths. 
We tossed the pears with a tablespoon of butter and sugar and spread them over a foil-lined baking sheet. 
We set the pears aside and removed the lamb from the oven which we then transferred to a plate. We kept the lamb covered with foil to rest for about 10 minutes. 
In the meantime, we increased the oven temp to 500F and tossed in the pears. We also placed the roasting pan with all the lamb grease and juice on the cook-top and began to heat it over a low flame. We mixed a bit of cold white wine with some cornstarch and added it to the roasting pan along with a few more tablespoons of honey to create the gravy. We boiled the gravy until the liquid reduced by about two-thirds.
We stirred the pears around after about 10 minutes and cooked them for an additional five minutes at which point they were golden brown and delicious. After an aromatic few hours, we were finally ready to serve our Sunday roast dinner. We sliced into the lamb which was tender, juicy and ever-so fragrant. 
We served the lamb alongside the roasted pears as well as our British roasted potatoes which were inspired by both Charles at Five Euro Food and Alison at Happy Domesticity. Thanks again guys!
Speaking of Alison, she recently awarded us with the Liebster Award which is given to “blogs you like who have less than 200 subscribers, and who you feel should have more.” Many thanks Alison! If you have a chance check out Alison’s grown-up cranberry sauce as it may inspire a little fun on your Thanksgiving menu this year.
And as for our take on today’s Sunday Welsh Dinner…Mike, Mr. N and I all thought the overall meal deserved 4 spoons. Mike gave the lamb and pears 4 spoons and the gravy 3 spoons. Mr. N turned in 4 spoons for the lamb and 2 for the pears. I’m not as big of a fan of lamb as the boys, but I thought it was pretty darn good and gave it 3 spoons. I had a few helpings of the pears and gave them 4 spoons. And the three of us also really enjoyed the potatoes – yummy! 
What about Miss A you ask? Well she gave us some mixed results tonight. The first thing she said was, “Do you know what I give the sauce? One. Because I hate it.” Gotta love a three-year old’s direct honesty. When we asked her about the lamb and pears, however, she said she loved them both and that they were 4 spoons. I was a bit suspicious of this rating though as she really didn’t touch much of the food on her plate. I later found pieces of chewed up lamb hidden under her chair. Apparently that three-year old honesty is about as consistent as their moods.
Print this recipe: Honeyed Welsh Lamb
Eat, Play, Love 
This is such an awesome recipe. I’ve been looking for this forever. it looks so simple to make too. I love recipes where you can just pop it in the oven. mm mm mmmmmmm
The colors in the pictures look fantastic. im sure everyone LOVED IT
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Thank you Patrick! I’m with you – any meal that I can just toss in the oven, leave to cook and have come out looking this good is the way to go! Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I love the concept of your organization!
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Cute post! I’m not a fan of lamb, I just can’t stand the way it smells. I hate to say this but I don’t blame Miss A for hiding chewed up pieces under her chair! I just think that Miss A. is so adorable, I just love her comment, “do you know what I think of the sauce” kids say the funniest things!
The pear side dish looks good.
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LOL! That’s how I feel about beets and brussel sprouts. 😉 Yeah, I’m not the greatest fan of lamb. It does have a rather strong smell and taste. That said, I thought this version was pretty good – especially the crust parts. Still, it’s not something I’ll dine on often. The boys love it though.
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Yum! Living in New Zealand I have learned to love lamb (we have such great lamb here!) – and this recipe sounds like a beautiful way to cook it.
Mr. N looks like quite the serious and budding chef! And Miss A gets a castle of spoons from me.
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Thanks Mel! He’s certainly on his way to being a serious foodie…I hope he keeps up with the cooking. He does seem to enjoy it! And Miss A…Oh, Miss A. A castle of spoons is a great way to put it. 🙂
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Ha!!!! Richard and I will be laughing about that one for a while.
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Us too! 😉
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Wow..this was a dinner I’d love to be attending!! The roasted pears and the honey for the lamb are a new twist to what I’d be familiar with in roasting a lamb, but I love the idea and look forward to trying it. Your kitchen must have smelled amazing! (Miss A is just too cute!)
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I’m not usually a big fan of lamb, but I have to say, the smell of this roast was so comforting and homey. 🙂
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Wow, I am definitely going to try this. My husband’s not usually keen on lamb but I think he’ll love this one. Will let you know how I get on! 🙂
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Fabulous! You’ll have to let us know. I’m probably the one not too keen on lamb around here. I much prefer beef or pork, but I really enjoyed the honey flavor to this one. 🙂
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In Canada we also grow lamb, but it’s always had a distinctive smell and taste which never appealed to me. Most recently I was at an event where they served Lamb chops and I was surprised at how delicious it was, no stinky smell or odd taste! I later discovered that it was New Zealand Lamb, so basically Ontario lamb stinks and New Zealand Lamb does not! I really like the honey roasting. By the way, I aways line my foil paper with parchment, as they still are unsure of the effects of aluminum on us (some says it’s linked to Alzheimer).
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Eeek! Now I’m really going to have to look into that and I’m definitely going to buy some more parchment paper (I ran out a few weeks ago!). I’ve never heard that before, but it seems like a small change I’d be willing to make. I believe this was a New Zealand lamb. It’s the only kind I’ve noticed at this particular store. I’ll have to check the other stores around and pay attention to where their lamb comes from. The lamb we’ve had has also had a very distinctive taste which I’m not all that big on (the boys are though), but the smell was fantastic this time around.
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Hi Kristy, here is a link: http://alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=99; a similar chemical is also found in most antiperspirants and deodorants…not sure there is a solution for that, but FYI anyway.
I got rid of my non-stick cook ware because of similar accusations.
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Thanks Eva! I’m going to give this a read and I have the parchment paper on my grocery list! 🙂
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Wow, what a gourmet meal, Kristy. Looks fantastic! I can imagine how well the flavors worked together. I love how honest Miss A is….honesty is the best policy, right? Congrats on the award. 🙂
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Thanks Caroline! Both she and Mr. N are quite honest. Most times it’s a wonderful thing. 😉 (Mr. N told me the other day that I need to add some of that “gold” color back in my hair. It’s looking a little too dark. LOL!)
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HAHA! That’s great. My mom used to keep a journal and update it about once a month with funny things my brothers and I said. My claim to fame was calling my brothers ‘do do dicks.’ Hmm wonder where I got that term? I blame my two older brothers and neighbors.
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LOL! That’s awesome! I can just imagine where that came from! LOL! Yep – I’ve got books for both of them. Admittedly I did better with Mr. N’s (more spare time on my hands then), but Miss A’s got quite a collection too. 😉
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That whole meal looks fantastic. I think I’d be in the 4 spoons camp.
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Thanks Greg! I wouldn’t have minded some of your caramelized onions with this too. 😉
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Ummm I wish I had been at your house for dinner time that night! Wow! My mouth is watering. I don’t usually cook lamb but boy do I need to make it a must and soon and use your recipe because this looks amazing
Love the honesty! Too cute and funny!
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This is only the second time we’ve made lamb. It’s not in our regular rotation, but it’s definitely a hit when we do make it – especially with Mr. N. The flavor is right up his alley. Her sheer honesty is just priceless at times – when it’s at home and with family anyway. LOL.
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I love Miss A! I do believe she needs a puppy/dog around to help her with her “honesty”!
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LOL. When I told her I found some lamb under her chair, she said she was feeding the cats. 😉 I guess they don’t eat lamb.
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Oh, that honesty is priceless! Don’t you miss the times you did not have to be politically correct all the time? 🙂
awesome dinner – I would give it 8 spoons if you allowed me to, everything in this meal calls my name!
wonderful photos too….
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Oh definitely! Especially in my job – there are times I’d really like to say what’s on my mind. LOL. It was a great meal – next time we just need to invite more people over to eat with us. We have tons of leftovers. (Not that that’s a bad thing.) 🙂
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Kristy, let me just start by saying that your pictures are outstanding! Love the overhead views, the set-ups (composition), etc. Really well done. And what a beautiful fall meal you’ve assemble here with gorgeous pairings: rosemary, garlic, honey and pear… oh my. An autumn delight! Is it just me or is Mr. N growing up before our very eyes?? 🙂 And, I just about passed out reading Miss A’s comment about the sauce. TOO funny – gotta love a girl who knows her own mind!!
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Kelly, thank you so much. I just keep practicing and practicing. I find it to be a fun challenge. And yes, I actually told Mike the other day that I think Mr. N has grown lately. He looks older all of a sudden. It makes me happy and sad all at the same time. I actually told him the other day that I miss my little Mr. N. He looked at me and rolled his eyes. Then he said, “Mom, you still have Miss A.” LOL. And as for Miss A, she cracks me up too. She always says these things with such drama in her tone too. I hope she maintains her honest assertiveness. 😉
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Honestly, I read the “Do you know what I give the sauce?” line to my son over breakfast this morning and the two of us laughed for about 10 minutes straight. It made our morning 🙂
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It was really funny. She said it three times – once to each one of us. First she told me. Then she interrupted Mike and Mr. N’s conversation, “Daddy! Daddy! UGH! Daddy! Do you know what I think of this sauce?!” She’s not one to be unseen (or unheard) in a room. 😉
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Looks like a delicious recipe and a great piece of lamb. Lamb is my favourite meat, I suppose it has to be being Welsh!
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LOL! Have you ever had a honeyed lamb? Any good recommendations for leftovers? 😉
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How about shepherd’s pie? Carrots, corn and peas with mashed potatoes on top, baked til the crust is golden brown and crunchy. 🙂 I think it qualifies as a Welsh dish.
You can substitute mashed sweet potatoes for the regular ones if you think the little ones would like it.
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Mmmm. Now I’d for sure like it with sweet potatoes. I’d probably be the only one to eat that though. 😉
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That lamb looks incredible! A wonderful way to wrap up a location in my book! I was going to say, a 4 spoons grade from someone so young for lamb is a curious response – many people really dislike lamb at that age. It takes a while to aquire the taste for it I think – and then I saw that actually she’d been surreptitiously chucking it under her chair! Haha 😀 I noticed your cut your roast potatoes quite small – almost bite-sized it seems. I never tried this; are they good like this? I tend to just keep them whole (if small), or cut medium to big ones into 2 or 3 pieces.
Where will you be “heading to” next? By the way – I like your new theme – I guess you’ve had it changed for a while judging by some comments in earlier posts – looks really great 🙂
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She cracks me up. At one meal when she wasn’t eating very much I cut her food up and gave her three pieces. I told her to eat one more bite and then she would make the three pieces into two pieces. She’s good at and likes math (gets that from her dad, definitely not me) so she was quite excited about this little task. She began her counting and got very excited to show me she knew that taking one away from three is two. I said that’s very good, now make that two pieces and you can be all done. So she picked up one piece of the food, walked it over to the garbage and said, “There, now it’s two pieces.” I probably should have made her sit down to actually eat one more bite, but I was too busy laughing so she got away with that one.
I usually cut our potatoes up into about 1″ cubes. I like them smaller. I think they get crispier that way. Plus it makes it more appealing to the kids who aren’t really big fans of potatoes. For some reason the smaller bites look less like an actual potato so they don’t seem to mind them. Mr. N is picking our next destination. I’m not sure where yet, but he said he wants to pick an island. Glad you like the new theme. I was unsure at first, but it’s grown on me. 😉
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Wow. Honest, assertive, hilarious *and* brilliant! You go Miss A!!
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Dangerous combination… 😉 While I love it. Mike is terrified of her teenage years. Maybe I should be too. LOL.
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LMAO.. I can’t stop laughing at how Miss A responded to this dinner. I guess she wanted to be consistent like her parents and her big brother.. but she forgot she left the food under her chair lol. Too darn cute I tell you. I like lamb, so I will definitely have to try out this recipe. This dish looks wonderful.
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I think that’s exactly it Kay – I think Miss A likes to be like her big brother. His opinion carries a lot of weight with her (often times more than ours!).
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Honestly, who wouldn’t.. Mr N is such a cool young guy :). And for them to be that close now, makes it easier for them to be close in the future. I don’t think I even need to say you and Mike are doing a wonderful job :). I’m sure you already know that
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Thanks Kay! I’m sure we’ll give them a reason or three to blame us for something in therapy some day, but it won’t be because we didn’t try hard. LOL. 😉
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What an awesome meal! I have clearly missed out on some fine dining the last week while I was busy with my family tree.
Have a super week,
🙂 Mandy
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Thanks Mandy! I hope your family tree is going well. 🙂
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This looks delicious! I love lamb! And I love the stories about your children. Miss A is a funny little one 🙂 Maybe she just didn’t want to hurt your feelings 😉
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LOL. I think she just wants to like things her brother likes. 😉
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Your recipe didn’t say, but, is it a boneless leg of lamb?
I love lamb and your recipe sounds wonderful. I’ve never used or heard of using honey on lamb though I’m happy to learn something new. 🙂
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It’s a bone-in leg. 🙂
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I priced locally raised leg of lamb this past weekend and, ouch, is all I can say. Lucky you even if Miss A hid her serving. 🙂
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It was on super sale this week, but yes, ouch. That’s why it’s a sometimes treat. 😉 Fortunately we have tons of leftovers. So it will make at least two more meals for us and I’m sending one to my Grandpa as well. 🙂
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Roasting lamb with garlic & rosemary is very Mediterranean. The honey, though, is new to me, although I’d like to give it a try. And Miss A and her disappearing lamb gave me a good chuckle to end my day.
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She is quite resourceful this little one. As the parent it’s hard to keep a straight face sometimes. Mike and I usually just make sure to avoid eye contact or we’d lose all self-control. Her ingenuity cracks us up though. I loved the honey on the lamb – the crust being my favorite bites. Mike was the opposite though – he preferred the inside bites.
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I love that Miss A hid her lamb! So cute!
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She is nothing if not clever. 😉
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