Any leftover potatoes can be placed under the lamb while roasting.Pre-heat a roasting tray with a tablespoon of olive oil for about 10 minutes, until really hot. Put the lamb in and roast for 10 minutes then turn over and cook for another 10 minutes until both sides are nicely coloured.Turn the oven down to 160°C/gas mark 3. Mix the rest of the oil with the remaining oregano, lemon zest and the lemon juice and rub over the lamb. Transfer the lamb to an ovenproof dish with a lid, or use foil, and cook for 2 hours, basting with the cooking juices every so often.Leave the lamb to rest for about 20-30 minutes then carve into thick, 2-3cm slices and serve with the cooking juices spooned over and maybe some roasted vegetables either cooked with the joint for the last hour or separately (see below).

Or serve spring vegetables such as peas and broad beans, or a Greek-style cucumber and black olive salad.. Squab has fine, mildly-flavoured gamy meat, but this recipe also works well with more strongly-flavoured grouse or the partridge, as well as with pheasant. However, Mandy Bradley, director of website propertyforecasts.co.uk, believes there’s no reason to suspect the property market is going to crash and insists homeowners will still be able to make modest profits during 2005. “However, a further interest rate rise will be another signal that the market will be weaker during 2006.”Official figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister reveal that UK house prices fell 0.1 per cent in January which means the value of the average property has now slipped back to £178,796. Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at City institution Gerrard, believes interest rates may even rise by 0.25 per cent in May which will act as a further brake on the housing market.”The housing market has stood up very well so far because it has been supported by factors such as strong employment figures,” he says.

Thousands of homeowners are struggling to sell their properties because Britain’s runaway property market has finally ground to a halt in the wake of a string of interest rate rises from the Bank of England. Place on top of the potatoes and cook for 7-9 minutes (slightly longer for pheasant), until the interior temperature reaches 140F on an instant-read thermometer.Allow to rest for 5-7 minutes before serving.. Transfer to a plate and allow to stand for 2-3 minutes, until cool enough to handle.Rub the squab breasts with salt and pepper, the caraway, pistachios and sesame oil. If you’re using pheasant, cook for four minutes on each side, until golden brown.