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Posts Tagged ‘leg of lamb’

Dean’s Leg of Lamb

Posted in Chefs, Food, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on May 2, 2015| 2 Comments »

Dean Leg of Lamb 1

 

This time it’s not an Aussie but a Kiwi who is introducing us to a favorite dish from down under. We had our Easter celebration with our dear friends Daniella (Australia), Stuart (Australia via England), and Dean (New Zealand). Daniella supplied a copious amount of delicious wines and Dean and Stuart prepared a glorious late lunch. I feel very spoiled when I visit as I get to sit up on a stool at their kitchen counter and sip a glass of wine as I watch them do all the work. The dinner was lovely with two stand-outs, Dean’s leg of lamb and Stuart’s pavlova. I asked Dean how he prepared the lamb and this is what he told me:

 

“I made a paste of garlic, rosemary, olive oil and a whole jar of anchovies packed in oil. I scored the leg and massaged in the paste and then wrapped it in plastic film for 24 hrs. I roasted it on high heat on a roasting rack for about 1¾ hours. I added some homemade stock (made with lamb shank bones and chicken necks) to the roasting pan along with a bottle of sancerre. I let the liquid reduce down to make the sauce”.

 

The lamb was superbly roasted and the sauce was divine. See how lucky we are to have bought Oz into our lives!

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It’s Spring – It’s Time for Lamb

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , on April 10, 2012| 3 Comments »

 

Many years ago during a time of mourning my closest friend provided dinners to our grieving family.  The first dinner she delivered was centered around a perfectly cooked leg of lamb and I have forever thought of lamb as providing a meal filled with generosity and kindness.  These are attributes that meld with resurrection and joy at this time of year when the world is awash in the the re-emergence of nature’s beauty.  In NYC we have been blessed with a very early spring – Central Park is aglow with hills of yellow and orange daffodils.  The Bradford pear trees lining our street are gently shedding, giving the cars and sidewalks as well as stroller’s shoulders a coating of soft white petals.  The temperatures have been in the unseasonable 70s and we are all waiting for the other shoe to drop with plummeting temperatures and a threat of snow.  Every day I hear someone say “I remember an April day when I woke up to a foot of snow”.  I’m just breezin’ along with the breeze, enjoying the warmth and celebrating spring – even in the kitchen where a leg of lamb has announced that “spring has sprung”.

I think everyone has a favorite way of roasting a leg of lamb – mine is quite simple.  Make any number of slits into the flesh and fill each one with a clove of garlic.  Generously salt and pepper and coat with a thin layer of celery seed.  Roast in a very hot oven – I do 450ºF – for about an hour and then turn it down to 350ºF and roast until a meat thermometer registers 140ºF for rare.  You can throw some potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips, onions or whatever into the roasting pan if you like.  I like to serve a little mix-up of grated horseradish (and ‘cause Passover season also, you can find fresh horseradish in every market) and chopped fresh mint along with it.

 

 

 

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Mickey’s Easter Lamb Which Is Really Summer’s Lamb on the Grill

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , on May 13, 2011| 10 Comments »

We had a lovely Easter dinner with our family.  Mickey, the eldest son, is a pristine cook in the French fashion so I am always surprised when he serves up a rather casual meal.  Now, for casual he still has his little copper pot of “sauce” (the most luscious reduced veal/lamb/beef demi-glace) on the back burner and a large potato gratin in the oven.  But, the vegetables are grilled (on this day asparagus, among others) or roasted and the meat is simply done and, usually, grilled.  His best pal and our artist in residence, Steve Kolyer, did his usual stint in the kitchen as well offering up a lovely assortment of hors d’ which were graciously passed by our granddaughter, Clara.  Mick’s lovely wife, Laurel, made a cake to celebrate the bunny but we all kinda thought he looked like a cat with long ears.

Here are Mickey’s words for the marvelous lamb we enjoyed on a balmy spring Easter Sunday.  It is something that we can all do throughout the coming summer months.

From Mickey:  “I boned a whole leg of lamb which gave me three mini-roasts.  I’m not sure how to describe boning the lamb as it is pretty involved and time consuming. (I say that we all know a good butcher who will do this for us.) You sort of follow the seams in the muscles and cut out all the fat and silverskin.  I rubbed the inside of each piece of lamb with roasted garlic puree, thyme, rosemary and parsley and then tied them up into compact roasts.  I cooked them on the hot side of the grill (a two level fire) and then moved them to the cool side and covered with an aluminum pan until they were cooked to about 130ºF.”

He served the lamb with just a drizzle of that rich sauce – I’d just serve the lamb with maybe a nice, fresh chimmichurri.

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