Spiced Roast Leg Of Lamb Food

SPICY LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• The objective: A nice, pink, juicy leg of lamb has a final temperature of about 120 degrees F. Use a shallow roasting pan or baking sheet with a fitted rack. Elevating the lamb slightly off the bottom of the roasting pan allows the hot air to better circulate around the meat as it cooks.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Toast the spices: In a medium bowl, combine the cayenne, fennel seeds, dry mustard, paprika, red pepper flakes and cinnamon. Mix the spices and pour them out onto a baking sheet. Place the tray inside the oven for 1 minute to warm the spices and allow them to toast slightly. This will awaken their flavors. Remove the tray from the oven.
• Make the paste to coat the leg of lamb: In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, molasses and salt. Add the toasted spices and mix together to create a paste. Coat all sides of the leg in the seasoning paste. If you have time, allow the lamb to sit out for about an hour and come closer to room temperature. Alternatively, you can marinate the lamb like this for several hours (or overnight) in the refrigerator before cooking.
• Cook the lamb: Place the lamb leg in the center of the fitted rack on the roasting pan and place it in the center of the oven. Cook, undisturbed, for 30 minutes. Use an instant-read meat thermometer and take the temperature of the thickest part of the leg meat. Your meat thermometer should read about 85 degrees F. Cook for an additional 30 minutes. Ideally, the thickest part of the leg should come to about 118 degrees F. Remove the lamb from the roasting pan to a flat surface to rest.
• Make the sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar and mustard. Place the fresh chiles on a flat surface and, with a small knife, cut them both into thin rounds, ribs, seeds and all.
• Pour off some of the drippings from the bottom of the roasting pan. Put the pan on top of a burner on your stove. Start a low heat under the pan and when the drippings begin to sizzle, add in the mustard, vinegar and fresh chiles. Taste for seasoning. Pour over the leg of lamb.
• Carve the meat: Begin carving at the loin end of the leg; you want to carve at a right-angle relative to the grain of the meat. Observe that this meat has lines almost like a piece of wood, aim the blade of your knife at a right-angle to the grain and slice thin pieces. Arrange the slices on a platter with the sauce.

SPICED ROAST LAMB

Steps:

• Stir together the marinade ingredients and season with ½ tsp ground black pepper and 1½ tsp flaky salt. Slash the lamb several times on both sides, then massage the marinade all over it. Seal into a large food bag or non-metallic container and chill overnight (or at least for a few hrs). Let the lamb sit at room temperature for 1 hr before roasting.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the lamb into a foil-lined roasting tin and roast for 20 mins. Turn the oven down to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and roast for 1 hr 20 mins for meat that's pink near the bone. Cover loosely with foil halfway through cooking or once the marinade has charred and the meat looks golden.
• Leave the lamb to rest for 20 mins before carving, then serve with lentil & tomato and cucumber salads (see related recipes).

TANDOORI-SPICED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Combine yogurt, lime juice, garlic, lime peel, ginger, salt, paprika, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, fenugreek, cloves, and cinnamon in small bowl; whisk to blend. Place leg of lamb on rack set in large roasting pan. Coat leg of lamb with yogurt mixture. Cover lamb loosely with plastic wrap or tent with aluminum foil (do not allow aluminum foil to touch coating) and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Roast leg of lamb uncovered until thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat (not touching bone) registers 125°F for medium-rare, about 1 hour 35 minutes. Let lamb rest 15 minutes before serving.

BBQ OR ROASTED SPICED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Place the Lamb fat side down on a plate or Pyrex dish.
• Mix garlic with the oil.
• Salt & pepper.
• Work the mixture into the folds covering the lamb surface completely.
• Grind the three herbs together and spread over underside of the lamb. Rub it into the lamb well.
• To BBQ: Place meat skin side down on an oiled grill. Close the cover and cook over medium high heat for approx 45 minutes. Watch for flame ups, but do not flip the roast.
• To Roast: Pour the wine and water into the roasting pan and bake in 375°F oven for 1 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 160°F (oven roast potatoes for the last 40 minutes with the roast).
• Let stand 5 minutes before carving.
• Check internal temperature: 160°F is medium rare - just pink.

SPICED ROAST LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Combine the garlic, cumin, annatto (or turmeric), paprika, and oregano in a bowl; stir in half the olive oil to form a paste.
• Rub the paste all over the lamb, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place lamb in a roasting pan and surround with the peppers and black eyed peas.
• Pour in the wine, drizzle with remaining oil, and season with salt.
• Place in oven for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on desired doneness.
• Let lamb rest for 15 minutes before serving.
• Serve with cooked rice or polenta.

LEG OF LAMB WITH HARISSA YOGURT CRUST

Steps:

• Trim the fat off the leg if you prefer a leaner version -or leave some on for extra flavor. See notes. Score all sides of leg 1/2 inch deep, 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart (crosshatch if you like), sprinkle generously with salt and bring to room temp for at least 1 hour.

ROASTED LEG OF LAMB WITH SPICES, ROASTED FENNEL, AND SWEET RED PEPPER MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Stir together the garlic, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper to make a paste. Spread that over the inside of the leg of lamb. Tie the leg crosswise with several lengths of butchers twine. Coat the outside of the leg of lamb with the Turkish Spice Mix and set it on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Put the fennel in a small, deep baking dish (or souffle dish) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the lemon juice and enough oil to entirely cover the fennel (2 1/2 to 3 cups, maybe more depending on the size of the dish). Cover with aluminum foil. Put the lamb and the fennel in the oven and cook until the fennel is very soft and the lamb is medium (140 degrees F), about 1 hour for the fennel, and about 1 1/2 hours for the lamb. Let the lamb rest 10 minutes before slicing.
• While the lamb is roasting, make the mayonnaise: Grind the walnuts to a coarse powder in a food processor. Add all of the remaining ingredients and puree; set aside.
• Slice the lamb against the grain and serve it with the roasted fennel and sweet red pepper mayonnaise.
• Combine the spices in a spice mill or clean coffee grinder and grind to a powder. Store in an air-tight container.

ROASTED LEG OF LAMB WITH NORTH AFRICAN SPICES, LEMON, AND ONIONS

Steps:

• In a spice grinder, a clean coffee grinder, or a mortar, grind the salt, oregano, rosemary, caraway, cumin, and turmeric to a fine powder. Transfer to a bowl and add the harissa and chopped garlic. Add the olive oil to make a thick paste. Make 8 or 9 deep slits all over the lamb and insert some of the spice paste, rubbing the paste all over the surface of the meat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour at room temperature or, preferably, refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature before roasting.
• Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the leg of lamb fat side down in a roasting pan that will hold the onions in one layer. Roast for 20 minutes. Mix the lemon juice and wine in a small bowl. Turn the meat and pour the lemon-wine mixture over it. (If you are roasting the lamb in a clay dish, warm the mixture first, because cold liquid can cause the clay to crack.) Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and roast for 35 minutes, basting every 10 to 15 minutes with the pan juices. If the pan dries out, add a little more wine.
• Transfer the lamb to a plate and add the onions to the pan, tossing them well to coat them with the pan juices. Add the rosemary sprigs or sprinkle with dried rosemary, toss, place the lamb on the onions, and continue roasting, basting often, for another 30 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads 135°F. Transfer the meat to a heated platter, cover with a double layer of aluminum foil, and set aside. (Leave the oven on.) If the pan juices are watery, transfer most of them to a saucepan and cook briefly to reduce.
• Meanwhile, return the pan to the oven and continue baking the onions until tender, with browned edges. Turn the oven to broil. Place the lamb on the onions again and broil for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the surface is deep brown and crackling. Carve the lamb and serve, passing the pan juices in a bowl or sauceboat at the table.