You can’t beat the garlic and rosemary combo. Making the knife pricks and threading it in can be a little tiresome but wll worth it. Season the meat well, salt on the fat, pepper on the meat, and dust with a little flour before placing in a hot oven (200°C) for 15 minutes. A slow roast keeps the meat pink so reduce to 170°C (gas mark 3) for 15-20 minutes per 500g for pink; 20-25 minutes for medium.

If you have an abundance of fresh mint in the garden make up a batch of mint sauce and keep in the fridge until you need it. Pound a big bunch of mint (roughly chopped) and a half tablespoon of caster sugar with a mortar and pestle until you have a smooth paste, add a couple of tablespoons of boiling water, 100ml of white wine vinegar and more sugar to taste, and store in an air tight jar. Roast potatoes are good, but as lamb is never going to be the leanest of meats they can be a bit of heavy. New potatoes are, belatedly, close to their best and they are certainly less trouble to cook. Lamb lends itself to pulses so if you want to make Monday easy cook up a pot of lentils and save half for tomorrow. For the gravy, which is equally good with other roast meats, remove the joint from your roasting tray, add a glass each of wine and light chicken or vegetable stock, a teaspoon each of Dijon mustard and Cumberland sauce, a tablespoon of crème fraiche and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Reduce to the correct consistency (whatever that is?), season, sieve and serve.