Considering that I really like lamb, and cooking for that matter, it’s really surprising that I never made a leg of lamb myself. Then again we only had to visit my sister in law and request one and her husband Harry would prepare a feast – and wouldn’t even let me help. Except maybe tasting the wine 😉
While having one of those strange discussions on IRC that start with something random (like bones of sheep in Kullervo) and then go off on a tangent we talked about lamb and how to prepare it. There was a clear consent that lamb and garlic are a dreamteam, but I actually found my claim that rosemary had to be included disputed! I was quite unwilling to believe that, but confronted with a beautifully simple and mouthwatering recipe I was starting to wonder …
Since the recipe wasn’t exactly willing to leave the part of my brain it had hooked it’s claws into I told my husband that we were going to have a leg of lamb the next weekend.
What followed was the modern version of hunting and gathering, meaning we trekked all over the city for the perfect ingredients. Then a short preparation phase followed by the waiting and ooh-that-looks/smells-nice phase and finally feasting on the results. And I admit it: a leg of lamb can be fantastic without rosemary!
The recipe:
Put quartered potatoes into a roasting pan and drizzle with the juice of 1-2 lemons, a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and oregano
Lard the meat with cuts of garlic and rub with salt and pepper. Put the leg of lamb on top of the potatoes.
Roast for 1 to 1.5 hours at 180-200°C making sure there is some fluid at the bottom of the pan. Add a bit of water if required.
Since this easily serves 4 I served this with Broccoli on the first day and a salad on the second day. To warm it up you just put the pan with the potatoes into the oven again and place the foil wrapped meat slices on the same shelf.
All in all an amazingly easy recipe with exquisite results. I’m just wondering how it would turn out if you replaced the lemons with limes …
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