THERE are few holidays with as extensive an assortment of delicious dishes to make as Christmas, with South African families turning to age-old recipes to make Christmas special.

After some careful searching, the SUN has found tried-and-true recipes for two dishes every South African knows and loves.

Also read: Foolproof Christmas cookies to get you in the festive spirit

Roast leg of lamb

This dish can be found in most South African homes on Christmas and is a surefire way to have family and friends going for seconds.

What you’ll need

• 2.6 – 2.8kg leg of lamb on the bone
• 6 large cloves garlic halved
• large handful of chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, basil, origanum, parsley)
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

What to do

Heat your oven to 190°C

Store the lamb in a cool place out of the fridge early in the morning so that it isn’t very cold.

Slice your garlic cloves lengthways in half and prepare your fresh herbs.

Cut 12 thin slits all over the leg and stuff a piece of garlic into each one, then stuff the hole with fresh herbs.

Take olive oil in your hands and rub the leg to give it a thin coating before then seasoning with ground pepper to taste.

Slosh some oil into the roasting pan and place the leg with the fatty side facing upwards. Put it in the oven and leave it for 1 hour. After 1 hour check on it, use a spoon and cover it with some of the juices that have collected in the pan and roast for another 1 hour.

Cooking times for roast lamb are around 50 minutes a kilogram plus an extra 20 minutes. This will give you medium lamb, if you like it a little more rare, shave off around 10 minutes per kilogram. Let it rest for 15 minutes or so before carving.

Also read: 8 creative Christmas gift-wrapping ideas

Fruit cocktail tart

Popping up in bakeries throughout the festive season, this dessert is a favourite for how quick and easy it is to make, and how few ingredients it requires.

What you’ll need

• A can of fruit cocktail
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

For the topping:

• 2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons margarine
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• Nestle ideal evaporated milk 380ml

What to do

Mix dry ingredients. Thereafter, add the fruit cocktail and eggs and mix well.

Bake at 180°C for 45 minutes.

Topping:

Mix all the ingredients and boil for 5 minutes.

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