Spring Recipe for Leg of Lamb

Around my home, we love to have a feast for every holiday. We have our traditional favorites, and then we have favorites that we've grown to love in recent years.

I never tasted, let alone cooked, a lamb dish until after my thirtieth birthday. My husband had never eaten home cooked lamb either. It was love at first bite.

This year for Easter we're having a leg of lamb. For our two children who are reluctant about embracing its deliciousness, we'll be having a ham as well.

The basic traditional way to cook lamb is to grill it or roast it with herbs. Since my husband loves to garden, we have fresh vegetables and herbs most of the time during the year. Here's my own recipe with a mixture of herbs that I pick fresh from the garden just before cooking. If you don't have fresh herbs, dried will do. You only need to use about 1/3 as much dried as fresh herbs.

Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb

1 leg of lamb, bone in, 3-6 pounds
1 sprig of rosemary (about 3 tablespoons chopped)
1 small bunch of fresh thyme (about 2 tablespoons chopped)
4 or 5 leaves of mint (about 1 tablespoon chopped)
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
Small amount of olive oil (less than 1/4 cup)

Mix the herbs and place them in a blender or food chopper with just enough olive oil to moisten them. It takes about 2-4 tablespoons of oil. Process the herbs till you have a finely chopped paste.

Spread the herbs and oil over the outside of a leg of lamb. If you like garlic, you can also cut small slits in the meat and place slices of garlic inside the meat. Place the leg of lamb in a roasting pan.

Roast the lamb or cook it on an outdoor grill at 350 degrees for about 13 - 15 minutes per pound. Using a meat thermometer, check the temperature of the meat. Medium rare will be 135 degrees. Medium well will be 145 degrees. Well done, the way we like it, will be 150 degrees.

Place the lamb on a platter with mint and thyme as a garnish. We serve this with roasted red potatoes and red bell peppers, a spring mix salad, and and fresh green beans lightly steamed.

I hope that whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year will find you gathered around a table enjoying family, friends, and fabulous food.

I'd love to hear about your favorite meals.

Happy spring holidays!

Posted by Suzanne Lilly
Follow me on Twitter as @suzannelilly