Mahnke Family RecipesMoroccan Roasted Lamb with Mint Dressing
Ingredients
- 9 lbs / 4-5 kg bone in leg of lamb - trimmed9 lbs / 4-5 kg bone in leg of lamb - trimmed
- 1 t / 6 g sea/kosher salt1 t / 6 g sea/kosher salt
- 1 t black pepper1 t black pepper
- 1⁄3 c / 64 g olive oil1⁄3 c / 64 g olive oil
- 1⁄3 c lemon juice1⁄3 c lemon juice
- 1 T lemon zest1 T lemon zest
- 2 T garlic - minced2 T garlic - minced
- 1 T harissa paste1 T harissa paste
- 1 t coriander seeds - toasted and crushed1 t coriander seeds - toasted and crushed
- 1⁄2 t ground cumin1⁄2 t ground cumin
- 2 c tightly packed mint leaves - washed and dried2 c tightly packed mint leaves - washed and dried
- 2 T shallots - chopped2 T shallots - chopped
- 2 t / 2 g red wine vinegar2 t / 2 g red wine vinegar
- 1⁄2 c / 118 ml olive oil1⁄2 c / 118 ml olive oil
- 1 small clove garlic - minced1 small clove garlic - minced
- 1⁄2 t sea/kosher salt, more to taste1⁄2 t sea/kosher salt, more to taste
- 1⁄2 t black pepper1⁄2 t black pepper
Lamb
Mint dressing
Rule #1, don't skimp on the lamb - get a good piece, not something marked down for sale. Rule #2 - see Rule #1. Also makes a great replacement for the Thanksgiving turkey as it serves 8-10 easily and you get that "ooh ahhh" factor when carving it up table-side.
Method
- In a small bowl, whisk olive oil with lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, harissa, coriander seeds and cumin.
- Pour marinade over lamb and massage into crevices. Cover pan with aluminum foil (or force air out of bag and seal as best you can) and refrigerate 2 1/2 hours or overnight.
- Remove from refrigerator 1 1/2 hours before cooking to return lamb to room temperature; heat oven to 450 degrees (or get the grill to that temp if you’re roasting it there).
- Remove foil from pan and place pan on middle oven rack (or get lamb out of the bag an onto whatever you’re going to roast it on); turn heat down to 350 degrees.
- Roast, basting lamb with pan juices every 1/2 hour, until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat reads 130F degrees, about 1 3/4 hours total.
- Remove from oven or grill, tent loosely with foil, and let rest 15 minutes before carving.
- Serve with extra harissa and mint dressing on the side.
Servings
8-10
Category
Prep time
2 1/2 hours or overnight
Cooking time
1 3/4 hours
Cuisine
Author
Christian Stovall