The daffodils are raising their sunny heads, the fields are greening, and Easter will be here before you know it. I'd love to share a recipe for our favorite lamb roast, and a traditional Easter favorite: leg of lamb.
It sounds complicated, but it isn't!
We had never tried lamb before we started raising them here on the farm. It's now our favorite meat....rich, tasty, and I think easier to digest than beef.
And I really wish they could come up with a different name. Lamb meat (at least here) isn't little lambs. Generally, if the animal is a year old or less, you call it lamb...in some places, two years. After that, it's called mutton. Ours are around a year old when they're processed. Just so you know and don't think you're eating a little guy. They look like full-grown sheep.
This recipe works equally well for lamb shoulder, too. I've adapted this recipe from Stanley Fishman's "Tender Grassfed Meat" cookbook. Highly recommend this book.
If you can get the ingredient quality as listed, that makes this dish even better, but I use what I have on hand, even jarred spices, and it still turns out great.
Ideally, you'll need :
1 (3 to 5 lb) leg of lamb or lamb shoulder
2 cloves organic garlic, quartered lengthwise
Marinade:
3 T. unfiltered organic extra virgin olive oil (Stanley likes Greek)
1 T. fresh organic lemon juice
2 T. sherry (optional)
1 t. coarse unrefined sea salt, crushed
1/2 t. freshly ground organic black pepper
Leaves from 4 sprigs fresh organic parsley
4 cloves organic garlic, finely chopped
1 t. dried organic oregano
4 sprigs fresh organic oregano, coarsely chopped (1 t. dried)
2 sprigs fresh organic rosemary, coarsely chopped (1/2 t. dried)
2 sprigs fresh organic thyme, coarsely chopped (1/2 t. dried)
Begin marinating the lamb 3 hours before you start cooking it. Cut 8 deep slits all over the meat and put a piece of garlic in each slit.
If you're using fresh herbs, strip the leaves from the stems...keep the stems! Finely chop the herbs and the parsley along with the 4 cloves of garlic. Place in a small bowl with the remaining ingredients, and mix to make the marinade.
Put the roast in a glass container, and coat the whole thing with the marinade. Let rest at a cool room temperature for 3 hours before roasting.
When it's time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
If you used fresh herbs, put the stems in a well-greased glass baking dish. Place the roast on top of the stems, meaty side down. Pour any marinade still in the container over the meat.
Roast for 15 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 300 degrees.
Baste with the pan drippings, and cook for 30 minutes.
Baste again and cook for 30 more minutes. This should give you a pink to light grey meat.
We hope this very special cut of meat will find its way to your table this spring (or any time of year).
Let us know in the comments below how you liked it!