Roast Leg of Lamb

A week or so ago, I was tired of thinking about what to make for suppers, so I told Nathan it was his turn and he needed to pick something to fix for supper one night and make a meal for us all. After thinking about if for a while and going through some of my cookbooks, he decided to go with a recipe from The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook. Because lamb is a new product that the farm has started to carry, he (and us) wanted to try some of it......so he went with a Roast Leg of Lamb

I know this picture is not going to do it justice or make it into any cookbook, but I needed to take it quickly before it got too cold and everyone started eating chunks out of it. I want to give you an idea of what it looked like though.

I thought he did a very good job! Maybe he ought to do this more often. The lamb had a pleasant (but not strong) flavor and was very tender. I was very pleased with the taste. Along with the leg of lamb, we also had grilled veggies, basil pesto pasta, and garlic bread. The pesto was from a pasta sauce mix from Simply Organics that wasn't too bad.

I will have to say it was very nice to just show up at the dinner table when the meal was ready and to walk away when I was done eating.

This recipe is simple as he just put on a paste then baked the leg of lamb in the oven. Hopefully you'll find this recipe helpful and want to make some for your family as well....maybe you can even get one of your kids to do it for you like I did, which would make it all the more enjoyable. : ) Enjoy!

Roast Leg of Lamb

The paste would also be good on grilled rib, loin or sirloin chops

5-6 lb leg of lamb (we used 2 of our half legs)

Rosemary, Thyme and Mustard Paste (recipe follows)

Paste:

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. course salt

2 tsp. black pepper

1 T. rosemary, chopped

2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried mustard

6 T olive oil

Rub paste all over leg; rest leg at room temperature for 1-2 hours, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 500*F

Place leg in roasting pan, set in oven, and immediately lower the heat to 250*F; continue roasting until thermometer reads 120*F for rare, 130*F for medium or 140*F for well-done. Cooking times will vary based on the size of the leg and the desired doneness, but allow at least 2 1/2 hours (at 250*F) for a medium-rare 5 1/2 pound leg.

Remove the lamb from oven, cover loosely with foil and rest for a minimum of 15 minutes before serving. The lamb will continue to cook during this time and the tempature will go up another 5-10*F

Louise