Anita’s Roast Leg of Lamb

 

The beautiful spring weather has been just what the wild rosemary that grows along the local mountain trails has needed to become full and aromatic.  There is rosemary everywhere, and I can’t get enough of it, so… to enjoy the local flavours of the season, I’m preparing a leg of lamb roast for dinner.

Can’t wait to smell it in the oven!  This can also be roasted on an oven rotisserie or BBQ.

Best if the meat is marinated in the fridge for about 24 hours in an airtight container.  I use a large freezer bag with the air taken out of it – a solid container will also work, just set a reminder to turn it every 4 hours or so.

For the record, I am pretty loose with measurements, methods and times and I make every effort to use as little electricity in the kitchen as possible.  If I can, I mix, blend, grate and purée by hand, not with small appliances.

But that’s just me.  If you prefer to use a blender for the marinade then just throw everything in and blend until smooth.

MARINADE:

1/2 c soy sauce

2 tbsp good mustard

8 cloves of finely chopped or grated garlic

1 c olive oil

2 tbsp rosemary

1 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger

 

 

Add all ingredients to a bowl and wisk together.

Place the meat into a freezer bag or container and pour the marinade over to coat.  you may like to save a bit in a bowl for gravy.

And now for the best part… cooking!

While the lamb is cooking, baste it with the marinade that it rested in.

Using a meat thermometer, cook to your desired doneness keeping in mind that the meat will continue to rise about 10 degrees F once it it removed from the heat and wrapped in foil. So for medium rare, remove from heat at 125 deg. F and wrap in foil and it should end up at about 135 F (54 C).  I started with a hot oven – around 425 F (220 C), and then when the meat looked as if was starting to cook on the outside, about 20 minutes later, the oven was turned down to about 335 F (170 C)

For the record, this recipe was given to me in imperial and I have done my best to give the metric temperature settings. A few degrees here or there won’t make much difference if you keep an eye on the roast.

While the meat is resting, bring any drippings and remaining marinade to a soft boil and then serve as gravy for the meat and side dishes.

This was accompanied by roasted red potatoes, green beans, a Caesar salad and sautéed brown mushrooms.

Bon appetite mes amis!