A pinch of herb with the roast

Sally Kidson discovers that Nelson district court judge David McKegg has marijuana growers in a remote area north of Gisborne to thank for his signature dish.

"First of all, I need to make it plain," Judge David McKegg says in his warm, sonorous voice. "I'm not the chief chef in this establishment, my wife [Edna] is. I'm a part-timer. However, now it's summer, I do have some clear likes and dislikes."

Judge McKegg, sitting comfortably with a mug of hot tea in one hand and a piece of homemade fruit cake, with his friendly chocolate labrador at his side, says he has a soft spot for "summer food".

By this, he explains, he has a particular liking for food, like big cuts of meat, that can last for a number of meals cooked up or simply served up cold with salad, potatoes and peas.

Peas, he explains, are another favourite food.

"Fresh or frozen, although only half the fresh peas ever end up in the pot," he laughs again.

Roast or barbecued leg of lamb is one of his signature dishes.

A natural storyteller with a sizzlingly dry sense of humour, Judge McKegg says he came across his favourite recipe years ago when based in Tauranga and presiding over a long trial.

The trial, which the Crown eventually won, focused on a drug-growing operation on a remote farm in the Waioeka Gorge.

As part of that three to four-week trial, a diary "containing rather incriminating notations" was put forward as evidence. As well as the doodlings of the drug dealers, the left-hand side of the diary included a series of recipes included by the diary's printers.

During the long trial, Judge McKegg says the recipes – specifically, a roast lamb recipe – caught his eye and when the trial hit a slow moment, he was able to jot them down.

The lamb recipe interested him because, at the time, he was fond of cooking a leg of lamb with salt rubbed in it, and the recipe in the diary "moved the cooking forward".

Some facts of the trial also made him think of lamb.

"Because the trial was on a farm, the lamb was kind of on my mind," he says. "Then I saw it was a bit more than salt rubbed on the outside."

Judge McKegg says the recipe requires the cook to make a marinade out of mint leaves, parsley and soy sauce. Some of the marinade is also used to baste the lamb as it cooks.

He also liked the recipe's touch of throwing sprigs of rosemary on to the charcoal grill.

Judge McKegg says the recipe revolutionised his cooking of lamb, and the meat cooked in the way it suggested had a much better and more complex taste than his previous roasts.

He has named the recipe Oponae Lamb, after the area the trial was centred on.

He still uses the recipe and is fond of cooking the cut outside on the barbecue.

"I like the smell of it cooking outside as it wafts around the neighbourhood," he says.

Judge McKegg says he did write out a couple of other recipes from the diary, but the lamb is the one that's stuck with him, partly because it is so simple.

He remembers the trial vividly for other reasons; at one point, it required a trip to the farm, and the jury were ferried by 4WD up a steep rough track to the remote property.

"It was a wonderful trial – it was a very remote property that had this ghastly little track that ran from the house up from the road."

He recalls "a frisson of fear" on the way back down that he might lose the jury and wondering how he would explain that.

Judge McKegg, who is now semi-retired, has been in Nelson for seven years and loves it. He has two sons working for Sealord, which has given him a connection for the place.

He also enjoys working with the people who work at the Nelson District Court: "a lovely group of people".

While lamb is his favourite to cook, he enjoys preparing other treats like fish and whitebait when he gets hold of it. "But Edna otherwise cooks the most of the time."

OPONAE LAMB

Recipe courtesy of Judge David McKegg

1.5kg butterflied leg of lamb
1 cup (250ml) dry white wine
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Sprigs of rosemary

Mix all the ingredients apart from the lamb and the rosemary in a disposable cooking tray, then place the lamb in this marinade.

Judge McKegg says it's best to make up a lot of the marinade and cover the lamb in it to marinate overnight, leaving plenty of the mixture to baste the lamb while cooking.

Cook the lamb in a covered barbecue. If it's a charcoal barbecue, place the rosemary on the coals.

Time for cooking the lamb will vary but expect to have it ready in about 1 1/4 hours.

While cooking the lamb, brush it occasionally with the pan juices.

• Fresh Favourites is a fortnightly series featuring Nelson people talking about the dishes and meals that mean the most to them.

- © Fairfax NZ News