Impress diners with this slow-cooked leg of lamb
This is a good, old-fashioned showstopper of an entree, the kind of dish where you should not pretend to be bashful — “What, this old thing? I just threw it together from stuff in the fridge” — but rather take your accolades with modesty and grace.
I have been playing around with slow/low braises, with a quick blast of high heat at the end to form a crust. I am also a sucker for almost any kind of protein (from a sliced roast to a filet of fish) finished with a pile of herby greens. The contrast of warm and cool, rich and fresh, tender and crisp — it gets me every time, and I hope you’ll agree. If you want a deeper flavor, rub the lamb with the marinade, loosely tent with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Bring the lamb to room temperature before cooking.
This would be great serves over couscous, either Lebanese, Israeli or Mediterranean, or classic small couscous. If you wanted to add a creamy, saucy note, you could mix up some crème fraiche or Greek yogurt with a few pinches of ground coriander, cumin, a lemon’s worth of juice and a handful of chopped fresh parsley.
SLOW-COOKED, HERBED LEG OF LAMB WITH FRESH HERB AND ARUGULA SALAD
Serves 10 to 12 Start to finish: 3½ hours
INGREDIENTS
One 6-pound semi-boneless leg of lamb
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 teaspoon ground cumin Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1 cup dry white wine 1 cup chicken broth 2 tablespoons honey Herb Salad: 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon honey Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 red onion, halved and thinly slivered 2 cups arugula ½ cup fresh chervil leaves
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup fresh parsley
leaves
Cooked Israeli, Mediterranean or Lebanese couscous to serve
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 225 F.
In a small food processor, combine the garlic, oregano, thyme, coriander, paprika, cumin, and salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the lamb and let it sit for about 45 minutes to come to room
temperature.
Combine the white wine, chicken broth and 2 tablespoons honey in a roasting pan, and season with salt and pepper. Place the lamb in the roasting pan, fat side up.
Cook the lamb for 2½ to 2¾ hours, until a meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 125 F. Turn the heat to 500 F and roast for another 15 minutes, until the top and sides get a bit browned (the
oven temperature might not get all the way to 500 F in 15 minutes, which is fine). Check the temperature: 125 F will give you rare meat, 130 to 135 F will be medium rare. Remove the meat from the oven and let it rest on a cutting board for at least 30 minutes so that the juices stay in the meat when you cut it.
Just before you are ready to carve the meat, combine the lemon juice, olive oil
and 1 teaspoon honey in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the sliced onions. Add the arugula, chervil, cilantro and parsley to the bowl, and toss to coat with the dressing.
Place the hot couscous on a large serving platter. Slice the lamb and arrange it over the couscous. Arrange the herb salad over the meat and serve.
Nutrition information per serving: 306 calories; 84 calories from fat; 9 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 145 mg cholesterol; 304 mg sodium; 4 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 48 g protein.