December 31, 2015

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary

Natacha Sanz Caballero Meat and Poultry Christmas, garlic, lamb, leg of lamb, roasted leg of lamb, roasted leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary, rosemary

It looks like the twenty five days of Christmas movies marathon is over on television. In fact, it was over the day after Christmas. It always makes me smile. Many Christmas trees will be recycled one day or two after Christmas Day. And yet, Christmas season starts on Christmas Day, and goes on for twelve days, until the Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, on January 6. That is the case in Spain, for sure, where Three Kings Day is a big celebration. In the United States, it’s almost unheard of. No matter, at our house in Fort Wayne, we celebrate it anyway.

But back to Christmas. How was your Christmas celebration? Ours was just as wonderful as every year, yet very different from the Christmases I remember in Spain. Our celebrations are smaller now, since our extended family is spread out over three major countries, and two continents. But the love, the sharing, and the joy, is just the same. Presents are also a difference. There are not many presents on Christmas Day in Spain, and our Christmas Day celebration revolves around family, church, and food. I very much liked it that way, a joyous day for family to get together to celebrate the birth of Jesus, rather than having presents being such a central aspect of the day. But I won’t complain: on Christmas Day, after all the unwrapping is done, and while everybody’s entertained putting together toys and electronics, I get to enjoy time in the kitchen preparing a delicious, festive meal. I like to make our Christmas day food extra special, with some favorites every year.

Speaking of foods and celebrations: what are your plans for New Year’s Eve? New Year’s Day?  Are you hosting friends or family? Another great day to cook that special meal! This year we’ll get to celebrate with friends at their house, but I won’t miss the opportunity to prepare that special meal, on New Year’s Day. As usual, I try to bring in some Spanish dishes, or Spanish influences in the day’s meal. Lamb is one of those dishes that remind me of Christmas season in Spain.

My mom makes a delicious roasted leg of lamb, slowly cooked for a number of hours, with fall-off-the-bone results. Roasted meats in Spain are usually served with their jus rather than with gravy. In fact, I didn’t know gravy until I moved to Canada. Lamb, however, has a very strong flavor, and therefore its jus need to be smoothed. A bit of cream added will do just that. I won’t call it a gravy, but a thick, smooth, jus. I’m sharing the recipe with you. I hope you like it, as I hope your New Year celebration is a fun one, and 2016 a great year for all. Peace.

ROASTED LEG OF LAMB WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

Pierna de Cordero Asada con Ajo y Romero

Ingredients:

1 leg of lamb, bone-in or boneless, about 5 pounds

4 or 5 garlic heads

A large bunch of rosemary sprigs

4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

3/4 cup sherry

1 cup chicken stock

3/4 cups cream

 

Preheat the oven to 300ºF.

Layer a few sprigs of rosemary in a roasting pan. Generously season the leg of lamb with sea salt and fresh ground pepper, and place over the bed of rosemary. Cut the heads of garlic in half horizontally and scatter around the lamb. Lay the remaining sprigs of rosemary over the lamb. Drizzle the lamb and garlic heads with olive oil, cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and place in the oven.

Roast for 3 hours if the leg of lamb is boneless, 3 1/2 hours if it is bone-in.

When the meat is cooked (tender when you insert a fork), remove from the oven. Place the meat on a serving plate. Gently remove the heads of garlic from the roasting pan (the cloves will be very soft) and place all but two halves of a head of garlic around the lamb. Cover with foil to keep warm while you prepare the sauce.

To make the sauce, place the roasting pan over two burners at medium heat. Add the sherry to the pan and bring to a simmer, while stiring to deglaze the pan, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom. Add the chicken stock and continue to deglaze. When all the brown bits are scraped off, strain the liquid through a sieve over a fat separator.

Place the cream in a small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat. Using a small sieve, or a food mill, press the roasted cloves of garlic from the reserved head over the cream. Whisk and continue to simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the cream thickens lightly. Slowly pour the liquid from the fat separator onto the cream, while continuing to whisk. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and simmer for a few extra minutes.

Serve the sauce alongside the lamb.

The lamb goes well with mashed potatoes with olive oil majado or rosemary baked potatoes, with sauteed mushrooms, and with baked carrots.