Stella's Roasted Leg of Lamb Dinner

Lamb continues to be an on and off dish at our house with the the girls.  I remember being very afraid of lamb growing up.  My dad loved a good Chinese style stewed lamb which would create such a strong gamey odor throughout, I hid from it.  Come to think of it, there were many foods I hid from as a child.  I was quite the picky eater.  Now, there's not much I don't like.  There are foods I choose not to eat, because, well, there is so much I do eat.  And so, I completely believe in the concept of choice and not force.  But, Chris and I love lamb, so it does make its way into our meals on a regular basis.  And since that is the case, I keep trying something different to see if any particular preparation will be well received.  
Stella, our bigger opposer of lamb, wanted to help make our dinner tonight, and wanted to prepare it like a previous post for rack of lamb persillade.  So, we did an outside-in version with a little twist.


2 lb boneless leg of lamb, butterflied open to create a thinner, flat long piece
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp minced shallots
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
Lay lamb out flat, fat side down and salt and pepper the inside.  Mix together the remaining ingredients and spread on top of lamb.  Roll lamb up and use kitchen string and tie to secure.  You can do this a little ahead of time and cover and refrigerate until ready to use, but take lamb out and let come to room temp before roasting.  We let it sit out for about an hour.
Heat oven to 450.  Salt and pepper the outside of the lamb and place it in a roasting pan and roast for 10 minutes.  If you have a "roast" setting on your oven, like mine, just set your oven to 400f.  My oven goes to a high heat to sear the outside and then just warms itself to the temperature you set.  If not, remove lamb from the 450 oven and turn down to 400 and wait until it comes down to temp.  Then return the lamb to the oven and roast for another 10 minutes.
Stella and I talked about what to brush the lamb with and decided on a mixture of equal parts red wine vinegar and honey.  Stella mixed a total of 1/4 cup to baste the lamb.  Return the lamb to the oven for another 20-25 minutes, brushing the lamb one more time in between and at the end.  Let rest before slicing.  I took the pan juices and separated the fat and poured a bit of the juices over the lamb.
Stella made mushroom orzo and french green beans as sides.  It was delish!  And perhaps even better than the meal was the joy and contentment in Stella's face from making a meal for her family. 

Comments

  1. Nice choice Stella, that looks really tasty.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Stella's cooking with me again tomorrow night! It's another Stella menu idea.

    ReplyDelete

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