Sunday, June 19, 2011

Roast Leg of Lamb - Variation with Rosemary, Oregano, Lemon

I just winged this last night based on the fact that I had fresh rosemary and oregano in the garden.  I often use thyme, not oregano, but I don't have fresh thyme in the garden right now (a disastrous oversight that must be corrected), and as it turns out the oregano was a welcome change.  I get my leg of lamb at Costo because it comes butterflied with a little net around it. 

5ish lb. boneless leg of lamb
5 garlic cloves
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt per your taste

The evening before your dinner party, blend the garlic, rosemary, oregano, salt, olive oil and lemon juice to a paste in a food processor.  Stab the lamb all over with a little knife.  Remove netting.  Work paste into the holes and also rub all over the inside and outside of the lamb.  Re-net the lamb and seal it in a Ziploc bag.  Refrigerate until an hour before you are ready to cook, whereupon you should remove the lamb and let it approach room temperature.  Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Place still netted lamb on a roasting rack in a roasting pan, roast for 20 minutes then turn the temperature down to 325 and continue roasting until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 125 degrees (per the experts, and the experts are right!  [I changed the cooking temperatures and recommended final internal temperature from my last lol recipe]).  This will result in a very tender lamb (maybe the lemon juice helps?), rare in the middle of the leg and medium rare on the ends.   Serve with mushrooms au gratin and oven fried potatoes.

Mushrooms and Savory Au Gratin

This recipe was a big hit with our guests last night.  It was really easy to make and went very well with roast leg of lamb and Syrah.  Here's what you need:

1 lb. sliced cremini mushrooms (other types should work, too)
1/2 medium white onion, diced
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh savory leaves (savory also goes very well with asparagus)
1/4 cup cooking sherry
Gruyere cheese
Crumbled crackers (I used Glutinos) or breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons butter

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Melt the butter in a big skillet and saute the onions over medium heat until soft.  Add the mushrooms and saute until they give up their liquid, then add the savory and stir.  Turn up the heat, add the sherry and reduce, scraping up any bits.  Transfer everything to a 9x9 shallow baking dish.  Grate as much Gruyere as it takes to just cover the mushrooms and sprinkle cracker/breadcrumbs on top.  Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the cheese melts and the crumbs are golden.  Remove and let rest for a few minutes before serving.