When we were growing up, the traditional lamb roast was a leg, on the bone; it is still popular today, especially for feeding a family. However, in the last decade or so, a rolled boned leg, often with a Mediterranean-inspired stuffing, has become popular – the cooking time is shorter and the cut is leaner. And a whole lamb roasted on a spit has become more common, under the influence of the hundreds of thousands of Australians whose families migrated from southern Europe.

In our home, there are only two mouths to feed as a rule, so there is no call for a whole lamb leg, boned or otherwise. So, we order a butterflied, boned leg and cut into three pieces – two larger, well-shaped pieces for roasting and the third to be minced for a meal of rissoles with Middle Eastern flavours.

The last time we roasted a piece of lamb leg in our Weber Q, we noticed that the cap of fat on the surface was quite thin. So, using her trusted knife from Toledo, Maggie slashed through the fat at 1cm intervals; then we coated it with a mixture of chopped, fresh parsley and marjoram; chopped flesh of a small piece of preserved lemon; and breadcrumbs, pepper and olive oil. We might have used garlic and rosemary as well, but they were destined to be tossed with pieces of potato, salt and olive oil. The last item to go in the Weber was a tray of tomatoes capped with chopped thyme leaves, breadcrumbs and seasoning.

I think we overcooked the lamb by about 5 minutes but it was still delicious. And moist – no need to make gravy when it’s Spring lamb season!