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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

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April 18, 2014

Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

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Easter is one of my favorite holidays. I have such fond memories of being a kid, watching my dad dye
Easter eggs, the way his mother taught him when he was young in their little Egyptian village - with
simmering pots filled with the natural dye of beets, onion peels, turmeric and bay leaves. After the eggs
were dyed, then came the hunt, my favorite part of the day. This little ritual tapped into something deep
and primal in me. It felt as if I was born to do this. My father, a minister, would often say, S eek and ye
shall find, and then off I went. He hid them well and I relished in the challenge. There's nothing quite as
satisfying as finding that which eludes us, especially if it has eluded us for a very long time. It was not
uncommon to find eggs hidden on our hillside, months later. Growing up, it was not the traditional Easter
ham my parents would have roasting in the oven, but instead, to some of my friends horror, leg of lamb.
Yep, those sweet little babies. By the time I fully understood what I was eating, it was too late, I acquired
the taste for it early on. To this day, the smell of lamb wafting through the house, brings me back to those

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Close your eyes. Fall in love. Stay there.

~Rumi~

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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

happy times together as a family.

This leg of lamb recipe is tender and moist on the inside, with a flavorful savory herb crust. It can be
made ahead, and placed in the oven right before Easter dinner. It starts with a boneless leg of lamb that has
been butterflied. A savory paste of herbs - rosemary, sage, or thyme, blended with garlic cloves, salt and
olive oil, is rubbed all over the inside of the leg, and then it's rolled up and tied together with cooking
twine. The savory herb mixture is then rubbed all over the outside, to create that delicious crust. In the
oven it goes, over a bed of roasting vegetables, for about one hour. After its cooked to your desired
temperature, let it rest a good 20 minutes, then slice it thinly. Spoon the tasty mint-caper sauce over top
and serve it with the roasted veggies. And the leftovers make delicious lamb sandwiches.

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The first step is making the herb paste. Two to three savory herbs like sage, rosemary or thyme, blended
in a food processor with flat leaf parsley, garlic and olive oil. It doesn't need to be smooth.

Spring Asparagus Salad

I use this flavorful herb paste on whole roasted beef tenderloin as well. Just rub it very liberally all over,
and let it sit over night in the fridge before roasting.
Rosemary Chicken
Lasagna

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Lamb with Mint
Gremolata

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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

Grilled Steak Tacos
with Cilantro
Chimichurri Sauce

Coconut Almond Bars

Cuban Chicken with

Chili Roasted Yams

Spring Vegetable Pot

Pie

Try to purchase a pasture raised, grass fed, locally sourced lamb if possible. Ask your butcher to butterfly it.
One you unwrap your lamb, make sure to pat it dry. It makes the whole process easier.

Falafels with Home

Made Pita and Creamy
Tahini Sauce

Portuguese Chicken
and Potatoes

Creamy Poblano
Enchiladas

Sometimes even an already butterflied leg of lamb will need some trimming and help to get it so its flat
and roll-able. Just remember, it really does not need to be perfect. The idea is to get the roll some what
even so its roughly the same diameter on both ends, but this is not essential.

For example this piece had a huge sort of lump one side, and as you can see below, so I butterflied it to
create a somewhat even base.

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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

Each one will be a little different. Just try to open it up so you can roll it. Generously sprinkle all sides
with salt and pepper.

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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

Spread the herb mixture on the inside, saving some for the outside too.

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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

I usually remove some of this outer fat. This is a personal preference. Some people leave the fat on like I
did here this time, as an experiment, and it is also good-- but I prefer it with most of the fat trimmed off.
The herb rub will keep it moist. If you leave the fat on, score it a bit so the rub gets into the cuts.

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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

Wrap it up with kitchen twine, at one inch intervals.

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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

Rub the outside with the remaining herb mix.

A few options for roasting : 1. you can roast the lamb on a bed of veggies (this will take longer to cook).
2. you could roast on a rack, set over a pan, to create an nice crust on the bottom as well. ( this cooks
faster) 3. Some people also place the roast directly on their oven rack with a sheet pan below on a lower
rack, to increase air flow on all sides of the roast. This does produce a really nice outcome, crispy crust on
all sides, faster cooking times- but then you have to wash your oven rack. Which, if its like mine, can be a
pain. So I just roast it over the bed of veggies. The lamb juices drip into the veggies and add great flavor.

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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

Toss the veggies with olive oil, salt, pepper and some herbs.

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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

Place the lamb over top, and in a hot oven for the first 15 minutes, then turn the heat down. Take it out
when it registers between 125-135 F. Remove the lamb, let it rest 20 minutes, and let the veggies
continue cooking if they need it, turning the oven up a bit.

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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

Slice the lamb leg in thin slices, against the grain.

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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

Serve with the mint caper sauce.

FYIif you love this extra huge beefy cutting board as much as I do, check out Dare Designswho
will offer cutting boards and other amazing goods for sale, at the highly anticipated Farm Chicks Show,

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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

here in Spokane, June 7th &8th!! It's not to be missed.

print recipe

Herb Crusted leg of lamb with Mint Gremolata

by Sylvia fountaine- feasting at home blog April-12-2014

Ingredients
3.5- 5 lb leg of lamb -boneless, butterflied
- teaspoon kosher salt
cracked pepper
----1 C herbs (a mix of 2 or 3 of the following) thyme, sage, rosemary
1 C italian parsley ( about a a bunch) tender stems ok
10 cloves garlic
1 T lemon zest
tsp salt
5 T olive oil
---Mint Gremolita
C olive oil
C finely chopped mint leaves
C finely chopped italian parsley
1 T lemon juice
1 T lemon zest
1 T chopped capers
1 finely minced garlic clove
2 T finely chopped onion or shallot
salt if necessary
-----Roasting veggies
6-8 Cups chopped - potatoes, carrots, celery, root vegetables, onion, garlic cloves
olive oil
salt
pepper
Instructions:
425 F Oven
Remove lamb from packaging and pat dry. Trim away any unwanted fat. A little
marbled fat is good, big chunks are not. It's ok to also remove some or all of outer layer
of fat if that doesn't appeal to you. Sprinkle all sides with - teaspoon salt and pepper.
Place outer side ( side with fat) down.
Make the herb paste: Place all the herbs, garlic, salt and pepper and lemon zest in a food
processor and pulse until it becomes like very coarse sand. Add oil, scraping down the
sides if necessary, pulse until just combined -not too smooth or oily- this should feel like
a dry course paste. Spread 2/3 of the paste on the inside of the lamb.
Roll up the lamb, with the paste on the inside and tie at one inch intervals. You can
either do individual strings and knots or wrap up with one very long string. It really
doesn't need to be perfect, just do the best you can. Rub the remaining paste all over the
outside of the lamb. If leaving the outer layer of fat on, score the fat a little with a knife
and rub the paste into the slits. (At this point you can refrigerate for 1-2 days if making
ahead, wrapping tightly in plastic wrap. Make sure to bring to room temp at least 1 hour
before roasting.) You can either 1. roast alone on a wire rack, over a pan, 2. roast directly
on your oven rack, with a sheet pan on the rack below to catch the drippings, or 3.
prepare a bed veggies for the lamb to rest on and roast over.

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Feasting at Home: Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint Gremolata

For the veggies, cut any combination of roasting vegetables into bite size pieces. Drizzle
with 1 T olive oil, salt, pepper, a few springs of herbs, stir and lay the lamb roast over top.
Place in a hot 425 F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325F. ( If roasting directly on
the oven rack, lower temp to 300 F. ) Continue roasting for another 50 mins to 1.5
hours.or until lamb registers at least 125 F ( rare) to 135F, remembering that the size of
the lamb will determine how long it takes to cook. What you don't want to do, is open
the oven door too much, or fiddle with the heat too much. Remove the lamb from the
baking dish, set aside, and let the veggies continue to cook, if needed, while the lamb
rests 20 minutes.
While the lamb is roasting make gremolata. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.
Slice the lamb and serve with roasted veggies & mint gremolita.

Details
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 1 hour 20 mins
Total time: 1 hour 40 mins
Yield: 4-6

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1 comment:
Christina @ b ut i'm hungry April 18, 2014 at 2:15 PM
This is making my mouth water in anticipation of the lamb that we'll be feasting on on Sunday. That
gorgeous cutting board is making my mouth water a bit, too. Drool.
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