Leg of Lamb Roast 1
Loosely adapted from a recipe for kababs in Maya Kaimal's wonderful cookbook, "Curried Favors"
Ingredients
- 1 leg of Soay lamb, likely to be about 3 pounds
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp finely grated garlic
- 2 tsp finely grated ginger
- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds, finely ground
- 4 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (ground red)
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 and 1/4 tsp salt
Directions
- Mix everything but the lamb in a gallon ziploc bag as a marinade.
- Put the lamb in the marinade, turn a few times to coat well, and seal the bag with as little air in it as possible.
- Marinate the lamb for 1-6 hours, turning occasionally if you happen to think about it.
- Roast the lamb. If you have a rack to put it on in the roasting pan, all the better. I prefer searing the roast first in a 450F oven for 10 minutes, then lowering the heat to 350F. Use some sort of meat thermometer and follow your oven's instructions for how long to cook the roast. Soay-sized leg roasts usually take about an hour to cook to medium rare (140F internal temperature) if the roast is at room temperature to start with,
The flavor created by this particular set of spices goes well with raita, the classic yoghurt and cucumber salad from northern India (very easy to make, lots of recipes on the web).
Add a basmati or other rice side dish spiffed up with onion, spices from the sweet brown side (cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, cardamom, allspice, or whatever you have around), and some frozen peas thrown in for good measure, and you will have yourself one elegant dinner.
Bon appétit!