Today’s recipe is my favourite way of cooking lamb –and Easter Sunday is the best day of the year to enjoy it. I like it simply roasted with lots of basting. This keeps it juicy and succulent. And then you can use the juices and crusty bits in your gravy.

I often get asked what the best way of making gravy is. For me, there are two things that are crucial. Firstly, roasting your joint on a trivet of vegetables, and then using the juices from the rested joint. If you do these two things, then even if you add water or a stock cube, you’ll find that you’ve got yourself a pretty good gravy.

For me on Easter Sunday, lamb and mint sauce are essential. This simple recipe only takes you a few minutes to prepare and is well worth remembering. You will use it again.

Roast leg of lamb

Serves six to eight

2.25kg leg of lamb

2 onions, sliced

2 carrots, sliced on the diagonal

2 celery sticks, sliced on the diagonal

1 garlic bulb, separated into cloves (not peeled)

a small bunch of fresh rosemary or thyme (or use a mixture)

olive oil, for cooking

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

roast potatoes, to serve

1 Take your lamb out of the fridge an hour before it goes into the oven. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas mark 6). Pile the vegetables, garlic and herbs into the middle of a large roasting tin and drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the lamb with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then rub all over the joint.

2 Place the lamb on top of the vegetables and cook for one hour and 30 minutes for rare-to-pink blushing meat, basting the lamb at least three times during cooking, as this will help to keep it juicy and succulent.

3 To check that the lamb is cooked as you like it, insert a skewer into the centre, remove it then press the flat of the skewer against the meat. As the juice runs out, you will see to what degree it is cooked: the pinker the juice, the rarer the meat. When it is cooked as you like it, remove it to a carving board and cover loosely with a layer of tin foil and a tea towel. Keep it in a warm place to rest for 30 minutes while you make your gravy (see separate recipe).

4 To carve the lamb, wrap the tea towel around the bone so that you can get a good grip of it. Using a sharp carving knife, cut into thin slices away from you. When you get down to the bone, just rotate the leg and start carving again.

5b Arrange on warmed serving plates with the crunchy roast potatoes and serve with some gravy and homemade mint sauce, if liked.

Perfect gravy

Serves four to six

1 tbsp plain flour

100ml (3½floz) red or white wine or cider (or even a splash of sherry or port works well)

500ml (18floz) chicken, beef or lamb stock (home-made or stock cube)

1-2 tsp redcurrant jelly (optional)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 To make the gravy, you’ll need to have transferred your joint to a carving board and covered it with tin foil and a clean tea towel. Place the roasting tin with the trivet of roasted vegetables and lamb juices on the hob and spoon off any excess fat, then add the flour and cook for one minute, stirring.

2 Using a potato masher, quickly mash up the vegetables to release their flavour, then pour in the alcohol.

3 Allow to bubble down and reduce, scraping the bottom to remove any sediment.

4 Gradually add the stock and bring to the boil, continuously scraping the bottom of the tin to ensure you get all the flavour.

5 Reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes, then pass through a fine mesh sieve into a clean small pan.

6 Season to taste and whisk in the redcurrant jelly if you think it would benefit from a little sweetness. Pour into a warmed gravy boat to serve.

Homemade mint sauce

Makes 150ml (¼pint)

20g packet fresh mint, leaves finely chopped

1 tbsp caster sugar

4 tbsp boiling water

4 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 Put the mint in a jug with the sugar and boiling water. Stir to dissolve and leave to cool. Stir in the vinegar to serve. CL