Make the rub and massage all over the leg of lamb with some salt and pepper then let it sit at room temperature for approx. an hour
Preheat the oven to 230°C/Gas 8.
Take your roasting pan and heat some oil over a medium heat. Add the garlic, celery roughly chopped and some halved onions until they soften.
Add in the wine, water, bay leaf and thyme.
Sit the leg of lamb on top of some of the vegetables (helping keep the lamb off the bottom of the roasting pan so it stays moist and doesn’t burn) and roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
Turn the oven down to 150ºC/Gas 2. Cover the meat loosely with a piece of foil or my roasting pan has a lid, and return to the oven.
Roast for a further 4-5 hours, basting every 30 minutes or so with the pan juices until the lamb looks done. You can also add more liquid throughout if you think it’s drying out but if you keep it low and slow, it should come out very tender.
To make a nice gravy, stir in about 100ml water to extend the jus (if it’s all reduced down).
Remove the lamb from the oven.
Reheat the juices until bubbling, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Pour into your gravy boat.
Strain the juices into a small saucepan and remove the excess fat from the surface.
Set the lamb aside to rest while you finish of the vegetables.
Notes
TIP: Take the meat out of the fridge for at least a couple of hours before cookingLightly score the skin of the lamb