The Briny Lemon: Garlic and Rosemary Roast Lamb

If a leg of lamb dish sounds too intimidating to cook, relax, and read on: this was my first time cooking it. For starters, buy a small piece of the leg. My butcher cut a 4-lb roast in half (sort of), and the piece I bought was about 2-1/3 lbs with just a small piece of bone in it. In other words, this was 95% meat. But don’t forget—this is also lamb: no need to fuss or cook for a long time. A pink middle is soooo good.

A simple but very flavorful marinade based on a garlic-rosemary paste is all it takes to highlight the natural, pleasantly gamey flavor of the lamb. Rub it on and let the roast stand at room temperature for half an hour. The oven does the rest.

Tip: To make the garlic paste with a fork (instead of a mortar and pestle), finely chop the garlic on a cutting board, scrape it into a little pile, and sprinkle it with sea salt. Let it stand 15 minutes, then use a fork to mash to a paste. (The salt softens the garlic, making it easy to mash.)

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves, minced and mashed to a paste (use a mortar and pestle or mash with a fork)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
sea salt
freshly ground black
2-1/3 lb semi-boneless leg of lamb, trimmed

Preparation

Combine garlic, oil, and rosemary in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Place lamb on a rack in a roasting pan and rub all over with the garlic mixture. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the pan in the oven and roast the lamb 15 minutes (uncovered). Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and continue roasting until the meat is medium-rare to medium, about 50 minutes longer (or until desired degree of doneness).