Lemon Garlic Roast Leg of Lamb

Studded with bits of roasted garlic, this lamb is perfectly moist and tender and oh so flavorful! Marinated in an easy lemony garlic yogurt mixture, then broiled quickly to sear the meat and slow roasted with wine, garlic and herbs, this roasted leg of lamb is mouth-watering delicious … even if you cook the lamb to medium well (like I accidentally did). My kids are super picky eaters and if they don’t like something, they will flatly refuse to eat it, so based on their response, I feel like this lamb was a huge success. My taste buds agree.

I have vague memories of my parents making lamb for us when I was a child … for special occasions sometimes, like Christmas or Easter, and I remember I just loved it. It was so tender and juicy! … alas, I’ve never made lamb for my own (now adult) kids, though … until tonight.

I often cook for my kids, but lately I very rarely eat in the evening, so while we (most of the time) talk in the evening, we rarely sit down and put away all the devices and just eat and talk. It’s not right, I know, because I know how much the simple act of sharing food and conversation can do for people. I have no excuse other than yeah, I don’t eat dinner anymore. Every time I eat dinner, I gain weight … and I’m done with gaining weight. So while I try to stop what I’m doing to talk to them as they eat, it’s just not quite the same as actually sharing a meal.

Last week, though, I decided, for Easter (or for April Fool’s Day … or perhaps just for the happenstance mixture of the two), we should have a nice meal together at home, all three of us. I hoped it would happen mid-afternoon, but it wasn’t actually completely done (with dinner rolls and mashed potatoes and gravy and all) until early evening. Daughter said we should use the special plates and she got them out for us.  My son (the super picky eater), who’s also not a red meat eater (other than burgers) willingly joined us. He cut his lamb into little chunks and ate a bit of lamb with every bite of mashed potatoes and actually seemed to enjoy it. Daughter had a headache, but though she warned us about her pain, she still ate and joked with us. I had my lamb with a lemony kale salad on the side. The really amazing part was the three of us looked at each other with no phones in our hands, no computer screens in front of us and we ate and talked about stuff going on in our world, like real adults conversing about real things. It felt AMAZING!

So I want to say happy spring to all of you! Hug your loved ones tight and cherish every bite together. Some of the deepest, most intimate moments and strongest memories are shared with food. Give them something to remember.

Lemon Garlic Roast Leg of Lamb

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 - 12 1x

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Ingredients

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• 2 – 6 lb. leg of lamb

For the marinade:

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

For the rest:

• Salt & freshly ground pepper
• About 2 Tablespoons rosemary/garlic-infused olive oil
• 1/4 cup wine
• 5 – 6 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
• Oregano, thyme & rosemary
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

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Instructions

1. Mix together the marinade ingredients and smear them all over the lamb, getting into the cracks and crevices of it. Cover and marinade for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to broil. Rinse the yogurt marinade from the lamb. Sprinkle the lamb with salt & pepper, rub all over with olive oil, then set on a broiler pan, fatty side up. Broil for about 5 minutes until nicely browned, then flip and broil the other side for 5 minutes.
3. Set the roast in a covered roasting pan, fatty side up. Pour the wine in the bottom of the pan. Cover the top of the roast with garlic and sprinkle with herbs. Squeeze the lemon juice over. Cover and roast for 15 – 25 minutes per pound or until the internal temperature is 135 – 150 F (depending on your desired done-ness). When you take it out of the oven, the internal temperature should be 135 for rare, 140 for medium rare, 150 for medium well, 160 for well done. Remove from oven, keep covered and let sit for about 30 minutes. (The meat will continue to cook during this time and the internal temperature will rise … it will also soak up some of the juices from the pan.)
4. Remove from pan, slice and enjoy!

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Notes

Cook time will vary depending on how large of a piece of lamb you are cooking. Mine was about 2 lb. because I’d used roughly half of a 4.5 lb. leg of lamb to make Irish stew.

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/4 lb. of lamb