Christmas Roast Leg of Lamb

Sliced leg of roasted lamb for Christmas dinner

A few months back I found this fabulous looking recipe for Roast Leg of Lamb on the Fine Cooking website here  http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/slow-roasted-leg-lamb-mint-lemon.aspx   and then we actually bought our own butchered lamb, including a leg.  When the lamb arrived, I knew exactly how I wanted to prepare the leg!

The lamb and rest of the meal was wonderful.  The only change I would make is to allow more roasting time for the lamb.  My leg was a bit over 9 pounds, I let it roast for 2 1/2 hours and it still wasn't cooked all the way through.  I think the 2 hours for rare recommendations was a bit on the optimistic side, so be prepared to maybe needing to add more time.



Leg of lamb as prepared by Find Cooking

 Ingredients

1 bone-in leg of lamb, 6 to 9 lb.
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint, plus 1/2 cup small fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry white wine
1-1/2 cups lower-salt chicken broth

Put the lamb in a 4-quart, 15x10-inch glass baking dish.

In a small bowl, mix the chopped mint, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, 2 tsp. salt, and a few grinds of pepper.

Spread the mixture over the lamb and turn to coat.

Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight, turning once.

Remove the lamb from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking. Put it on a V-rack in a 13x16-inch flameproof roasting pan. Add 1 cup of water to the pan.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 450°F.

Put the lamb in the oven and lower the heat to 350°F. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the leg, away from the bone, reads 135°F to 140°F for medium rare, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Transfer the lamb to a warm platter and cover with aluminum foil. Let rest for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, skim the fat from the top of the pan juices and then set the roasting pan over two burners on medium heat. Add the wine, and with a wooden spoon, scrape up all the browned bits. Bring to a boil and cook until the liquid has reduced to about 1/4 cup. Add the broth, return to a boil, and reduce the liquid again to about 1 cup. Season to taste with salt and pepper, strain into a sauce boat, and stir in the mint leaves. Carve the lamb and serve with the sauce.

For the sauce and fixings

1 tomato

1 cucumber

garlic, salt, pepper

sour cream

lemon juice

pita bread

Sandwich condiments

Scalloped 3 cheese potatoes  I used this recipe for the potatoes by Sweet Pea's Kitchen http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2010/11/04/scalloped-potatoes-with-three-cheeses/

Ingredients

3/4 cup (packed) grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)

3/4 cup crumbled Danish blue cheese (about 4 ounces)

1/3 cup (packed) freshly grated Parmesan (about 1 1/4 ounces)

4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 cups whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
2. In a small bowl, mix cheddar cheese, blue cheese and Parmesan; set aside.
3. Arrange half of potatoes in prepared baking dish, overlapping slightly.
4. In a large sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and garlic and saute until golden, about 6 minutes. Add flour, salt, pepper, and milk; cook until thickened. Add half of the cheese mixture, stir until combined.
5. Pour half of the milk mixture over the potatoes. Add remaining potatoes. Top with remaining milk mixture.
6. Cover baking dish tightly with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Uncover dish; sprinkle potatoes with reserved cheese mixture. Bake uncovered until potatoes are tender and cheese is deep golden brown, about 45 minutes longer.





Scalloped potatoes ready for the oven

Remove the potato dish from oven; let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Scalloped potatoes with extra Parmesan cheese



My plate

This was a great combination.  Next time a leg of lamb comes my way, I'll be serving it pseudo Mediterranean again.

With the left over lamb (that needed a bit more oven time), I prepared a curry, see post here http://carfreeinannarbor.blogspot.com/2010/12/left-over-lamb-rogan-josh-king-amongst.html

Happy Holidays

Astrid