Braised mutton with creamy leek and mint sauce recipe

This mutton dish with leek, cinnamon and orange is a great recipe to serve as a St David's Day meal, or as a hearty winter warmer.

Ingredients

• Forthe braising mix
• 4 leeks, trimmed and cut into 4 rounds
• 1 orange, quartered
• Sprigs rosemary
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 carrot, halved
• Sea salt and ground black pepper

For the sauce

• 300ml (1/2pt) braising juices, skimmed of fat
• 1l (1 1/4pt) full cream milk
• 75g (3oz) butter
• 75g (3oz) plain flour
• Fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
• Sea salt and ground black pepper
• 6 leeks, trimmed, washed and cut into 2cm/3/4in rounds

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Make 20 regularly spaced small slits in the skin of the mutton and insert cloves. Weigh joint and calculate cooking time at 90 minutes per kilo. Place mutton in a deep roasting pan.
2. Surround the joint with all the braising ingredients and pour boiling water to come half way up the side of the meat. Tuck a piece of wetted baking parchment over the meat and braising ingredients and cover with foil. Oven braise, adding more water if required.
3. Once cooked remove from the oven and save 300ml (1/2pt) of the juices for the sauce skimming off fat before measuring the liquid. Allow the meat to rest for 30 mins before carving into thin slices.
4. Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Simmer the prepared leeks for 3 -4 mins until just tender. Drain. Melt the butter and stir in the flour. Gradually add the reserved braising juices and milk stirring continuously over a gentle heat until the sauce is simmering. Season and add the mint and leeks.
5. Pour the sauce over the carved mutton slices and accompany with crispy roast potatoes, carrots and braised red cabbage.