While I like roast potatos and carrots, the way Hamadryad and reprise suggest, I also like good lamb gravy and mashed potatoes instead.
About a half hour before the lamb’s going to be done peel some potatoes, cut them into small chunks, and put them in a pot of boiling water. They should be ready by the time the lamb comes out. You drain the water and save it for making the gravy. Mash the potatoes with some margarine, salt and milk, and then cover to keep warm. (Turn off the heat, as the pot should have enough retained heat, and you don’t want to burn the potatoes.
I never put any butter on the roast (cholesterol issues -YMMV) or use a turkey bag - I just put the lamb in a roaster. Once the lamb is done, I take it out of the roaster and put it on the back element of the stove (the one that gets heat from the oven), and cover it with foil. If the lamb gives you a lot of drippings, you’ll want to skim off a lot of the clear stuff (more choloesterol) and discard it, keeping the brown drippings.
Then, put the roaster on the element on medium heat, and add some of the potato water. Using a wire whisk or a spoon, stir and scrape the sides to get all of the “brownie bits” off the sides of the roaster. Once the water warms up, you should be able to get the sides pretty much clean, which means the flavour from the brownie bits is in the gravy.
Now, this is where judgment comes in - how to get the right balance of flour and liquid? Add a spoonful of flour, while whisking vigourously. (If you don’t have a whisk, consider buying one - they’re very handy for making any sort of sauce, to prevent lumps). Once all the flour is mixed, if the gravy doesn’t look very thick, add another spoonful, and keep whisking. You have to be careful not to put in too much flour, or else the gravy tastes floury, but you need some to make it thick. The flour thickens the gravy, but so too does the cooking process. If it starts getting too thick, add some more of the potato water. (My mum used to measure the water and flour carefully, but I tend to just go by feel.) Add some salt and pepper to taste, and let it cook. You want it to be bubbling, but not too hot, or else it will burn.
When it’s ready, just put some mashed potatoes on the plate, pour on the gravy, and turn off the heat while you eat. If you want seconds, it doesn’t take long to heat the gravy up again, maybe adding a bit more water if it’s thickened.
mmmmm, gravy and mashed potatoes. Only thing better is gravy and Yorkshire pud.
