Herb-rubbed roast bone-in leg of lamb on saffron rice

Chop mint, curly parsley and rosemary leaves (stripped from the woody stalks) together.

Add garlic, the juice of a lemon (rolled first, seeds out), a good pinch of kosher salt and pepper, about a tablespoon of anchovy paste and about a third of a cup of olive oil; mix to a paste.

Trim blood bits and unwanted fat from the lamb.

Make shallow cuts over the lamb so the flavours penetrate.

French the top: cut the meat away around the bone so a clean bone sticks up.

Massage the rub all over the lamb, including the bottom, keeping some back.

Set the lamb in a roasting container on a makeshift rack and tent loosely with foil.

Put into a 450 degree oven, then turn down to 350; roast about an hour to an hour and a half.

Take off the foil and check; aim for about 130 degrees, as it continues to rise, for medium rare.

Put a little saffron in chicken stock and let it steep about five minutes.

Melt a couple of knobs of butter gently in a cast iron pan.

Add diced yellow onion; cook a couple of minutes until it starts to soften and turn translucent.

Add about a tablespoon of garlic paste and cook until fragrant; add two cups of rinsed basmati rice and toss to coat in the butter.

Season with a little cumin and some turmeric; toast lightly with the rice a couple of minutes.

Add the saffron-infused broth and a little salt; once simmering, cover, turn to low and cook about 18 minutes.

Rough chop pistachios (not to dust); mix with curly parsley in a small bowl.

Kill the heat and fluff the rice; keep warm.

After an hour, check the lamb (between about 80 and 90 degrees, working up to 135); leave the foil off, pour about a cup of vermouth into the bottom and return to the oven to colour.

Pull the lamb at about 132 or 133 degrees and rest almost half an hour.

Paint the reserved herb rub over the lamb for gloss and colour.

Spread the warm rice on a platter, scatter the pistachio-parsley topping and set the lamb on top.

Roasting worked out to about 20 minutes a pound, pulled just over 132 or 133 degrees.

To carve, take a few slices off one side to flatten it, then cut inch to half-inch slices down to the bone.