Roasted Young Spring Leg Of Lamb Spanish Style Food

SLOW-ROASTED ANDALUSIAN-STYLE LAMB AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine garlic, thyme, and 2 tablespoons salt in a small bowl. Using your fingertips, rub mixture until it resembles wet sand (larger pieces of garlic will remain); set aside. Crush bay leaves.
• Combine half of potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and 1 crushed bay leaf in a large roasting pan; season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Spread out potatoes in a single layer.
• Place lamb on top of potatoes and rub with garlic mixture. Layer tomatoes, onions, remaining 3 crushed bay leaves, and remaining potatoes around and up sides of lamb, seasoning with salt and pepper and drizzling with remaining 6 tablespoons oil as you go (lamb will be nearly covered). Add wine to pan; cover tightly with foil.
• Roast until lamb is very tender, 3-4 hours. Remove foil and increase oven temperature to 425°F. Roast, turning lamb halfway through, until lamb is golden, 20-25 minutes longer. Let rest in roasting pan for 15-20 minutes. DO AHEAD: Lamb can be roasted 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Reheat before continuing.
• Pull meat from bones in large chunks; discard bones and fat. Place meat and vegetables on a platter. Skim fat from surface of cooking juices in pan. Spoon some cooking juices over lamb and vegetables and serve remainder alongside.

ROASTED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Place the lamb on a sheet pan covered with foil. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, white wine, garlic, salt, black pepper, and thyme leaves. Stir to blend and rub all over the lamb. Cover and place it in the refrigerator to marinate for a few hours or overnight, turning the lamb over from time to time and recoating it with the marinade.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the lamb from the marinade and season on all sides with salt, pepper and olive oil. Reserve the leftover marinade for later use.
• In a roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack place the lamb, fatty side up, on the rack and place it in the center of the oven. . Having the leg elevated off the bottom of the pan will allow for more even roasting. At 425 degrees F, the roast should start to brown fairly quickly.
• After 25 to 30 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. I usually count between 12 to 14 minutes per pound of meat (including the weight of the bone) for a roast. When the oven heat is lowered, count about 30 to 40 minutes and then check the inner temperature of the thickest part of the roast with an instant-read thermometer. Cook it to about 130 degrees F. The meat, once it "rests" will be a nice medium rare. Remove the roast and turn it fat side down onto a flat surface to rest. Resting the lamb on the opposite side will help to redistribute the juices. Note: Save the pan drippings.
• Place the roasting pan on the stove over medium low heat. Add the reserved marinade, dry sherry and 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard. Whisk together and simmer until thick. Transfer the sauce to a gravy boat and serve with lamb.
• Slice the lamb (against the grain) and serve family style.

ROASTED LEG OF LAMB SANDWICH

Steps:

• Combine the canola oil, rosemary, thyme, garlic and some salt and pepper and rub all over the leg of lamb. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Roast the lamb until the internal temperature has reached 135 degrees F (for medium-rare), 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours. Let rest 20 minutes. Toast the baguette. Slice the lamb and place on the baguette along with some Harissa, Saffron Aioli and Fennel Seed Slaw. Cut into 8 portions and serve.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roughly chop the peppers, tomatoes, carrots and celery. The garlic can be cut in half and added without peeling the cloves. Add the chopped vegetables, garlic, vegetable oil, parsley, thyme and salt to a large braising pan. Roast in the oven for 1 hour, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes. Add the tomato paste and 2 cups water. Continue cooking, stirring and adding 2 more cups water, until the vegetables are very tender, 2 more hours. Remove from the oven and pass through a food mill. The harissa may be divided into 1/2 cup dollops and frozen on a cookie sheet.
• Combine the garlic and salt in a food processor until they form a paste. Add the egg yolks, harissa, lemon juice and saffron tea and combine. Slowly add the canola oil, with the food processor running, until the oil has been emulsified.
• Combine the mayo, cabbage, onions, parsley, vinegar, fennel seeds and sugar. Season with salt.

ROASTED LEG OF SPRING LAMB WITH ROASTED GARLIC AND ROSEMARY JUICE AND PORTOBELLO AND EGGPLANT RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Portobello and Eggplant Ratatouille: Place the portobellos, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, onion, pepper, jalapeno and cherry tomatoes in a large bowl. Add olive oil and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the vegetables in a single layer over grill. Grill over medium heat for 4 minutes. Turn and cook 4 more minutes. Starting with the tomatoes, remove all the vegetables from the grill. Place the vegetables on a cutting board and chop coarsely. Add garlic, rosemary, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Allow to sit 1/2 hour. After 1/2 hour drain 1/2 cup of the juice from the vegetables and save for the Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Juice.;
• Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Juice: Puree the garlic, rosemary, olive oil and ratatouille juice in a blender. Season with salt and pepper.;
• Roasted Leg of Lamb: Combine garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper in a bowl, or mortar, and crush together. Add oil and rub the mixture over the lamb vigorously, forcing the mixture into the meat. Skewer the lamb and place on a spit. Roast the lamb 1 1/2 hours over medium heat. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Take the bone out and slice the leg into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange slices into a circle around the outside of a platter. Place the ratatouille in the center and drizzle juice around the lamb.

SPANISH ROAST LAMB (CORDERO ASADO OR LECHAZO)

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat the lard or vegetable shortening until it melts. If you prefer, use a small bowl and heat in a microwave oven.
• Heat oven to 400 F.
• Trim excess fat off the lamb and discard.
• Place lamb in ​the roasting pan or another oven-proof dish. (Traditionally, the Spanish use large, open clay dishes.) Rub the lamb with salt and baste with the melted lard.
• Place in oven to roast. Occasionally baste with lard and turn until lamb is golden brown on the outside and meat is tender.
• Roast potatoes are a great accompaniment to this dish. To roast potatoes, peel 8-10 small potatoes and cut in half. Place in the roasting pan around the lamb. Baste with lard when you baste the lamb. The amount of time that the lamb spends in the oven will depend on how thick the piece(s) of meat are. A good rule of thumb for a bone-in leg of lamb at 400 F is to allow about 30 minutes roasting time per pound of lamb.

ROAST LAMB WITH SPRING HERB CRUMBS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. For the lamb, scatter the vegetables, bay leaves and a few rosemary sprigs into a large roasting tin and drizzle with the olive oil. Use a sharp knife to make little slits all over the lamb. Poke a slice of garlic and a small sprig of rosemary into each one. Sit the lamb on top of the veg in the roasting tin, add a splash of wine, then cook for 2 hrs if you like it pink, or 2 hrs 15 mins for cooked through. Remove from the oven, transfer to a board and cover with foil, then rest for 45 mins-1 hr.
• To make the gravy, pour off most of the fat from the tin but leave the veg and any meat juices. Place the tin on the heat to caramelise the veg, then stir in the flour and cook to a paste. Gradually stir in the wine, cook for a min, then stir in the stock and simmer until you have a tasty gravy. Push the gravy through a sieve into a small pan and keep warm.
• Turn oven up to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. For the crumbs, blitz everything in a food processor and scatter over a tray. Bake in the oven for 10-15 mins until crisp, then re-blitz or break up with your fingers to crumbs again. These can be made in advance and kept in an airtight container for 2 days. Serve the lamb carved into slices, sprinkled with crumbs and a jug of gravy alongside.

EASY ROAST LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Remove all packaging from the lamb and keep a note of the weight to calculate the roasting time. Make incisions into the lamb using a small sharp knife, at an angle, about 5cm into the meat. Making the holes at an angle will mean more of the meat is flavoured, and the flavourings will be less tempted to be pushed out when roasting.
• Insert a short sprig of rosemary, a garlic slice and a small piece of anchovy (if using) into each of the holes, pressing in well with your finger. Season the meat all over with salt and pepper, then rub the lamb all over with the olive oil. Transfer to a roasting tin, sat on the onion slices. Roast for 20 mins.
• Lower the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and cook for another 15-20 mins per 500g (1 hr - 1 hr 20 mins for 2kg leg) depending on how pink you like your lamb. You can also check the internal temperature of the lamb if you prefer pinker meat - it will be 55C for medium (pink) and 70C for well done.
• Cover with foil and rest for 15 mins before carving. Save the tray juices and onion slices to make gravy.

ROAST LAMB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Use a small sharp knife to make about a dozen incisions, each about 2 inches deep, through the fat that covers the top of the meat. Using a mortar and pestle or a blender, blend 2/3 of the anchovies (or 2/3 of the mustard if using), the rosemary leaves and the garlic cloves into a chunky paste. Using your fingers, press paste deeply into incisions.
• Mix remaining anchovies (or mustard) and the butter into a paste. Smear this mixture all over the surface of the roast. Season liberally with black pepper. (Do not add salt; the anchovies are salty enough, and so is the mustard.) Place the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan, fat side up, and squeeze the lemon halves over. Pour the wine around the roast into the pan.
• Roast 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast until internal temperature reaches 130 to 135 degrees (for medium-rare or medium meat), about another 60 to 90 minutes. Baste every 20 minutes or so with the wine and drippings in the pan, adding more wine as needed to keep the liquid from scorching. If possible, for the last 15 minutes of cooking, use convection or a broiler to crisp the fat on the roast.
• Remove pan from the oven, remove rack from the pan, and let the roast rest on the rack for at least 15 to 20 minutes in a warm place, tented with foil. The internal temperature will rise to about 140 to 145 degrees.
• To make sauce from the pan drippings, remove a few tablespoons of fat by tipping the pan and spooning off the top layer. Put the pan over medium heat until the liquid simmers. Taste the simmering liquid and whisk in more wine, 1/4 cup at a time, until the consistency and flavor are right. Do not let the mixture become syrupy; it should be a sharp jus, not a thick gravy.
• Carve lamb into 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange on a heated platter, decorated with rosemary sprigs. Serve with piping hot gravy.

SPANISH-STYLE SLOW-COOKED LAMB SHOULDER & BEANS

Steps:

• To make the spice mix, combine all of the ingredients together with a large pinch of salt. Slash the lamb shoulder all over with a sharp knife and rub in. If you have the time, marinate for up to 24 hrs, but this is not essential.
• Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or roasting tin over a medium-high heat, add the onions, carrots and garlic and sizzle for 5 mins until the onions and carrots are softened. Pour over the stock, then bring to the boil. Nestle the lamb in the pan and cover, then transfer to the oven and roast for 2 hrs.
• Uncover and transfer the lamb to a plate using tongs. Stir the beans, peppers and olives through the stock in the pan, sit the lamb back on top and return to the oven, uncovered, for 1 hr 30 mins until the lamb is cooked through. Transfer the lamb to a board and shred using two forks. Stir the parsley through the braised beans before serving.

ROAST LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cut slits in the top of the leg of lamb every 3 to 4 inches, deep enough to push slices of garlic down into the meat. Salt and pepper generously all over the top of lamb, place several sprigs of fresh rosemary under and on top of the lamb. Place lamb on roasting pan.
• Roast in preheated oven until the lamb is cooked to your desired doneness, about 1 3/4 to 2 hours. Do not overcook the lamb, the flavor is best if meat is still slightly pink. Let rest at least 10 minutes before carving.