Recipe

March 6, 2009

Slashed Roast Lamb Recipe

Recipe:

Step 1: Heat the oven to 425°F. Holding the leg of lamb with its meatiest side toward you, slash 5 times almost to the bone, at 1″ intervals.

Step 2: Combine the parsley, garlic, anchovies, capers, lemon zest, and bread crumbs in a bowl. Mix in the olive oil to make a paste. Push between the lamb slashes, reshape the meat, and tie with string.

Step 3: Scatter with rosemary, drizzle with a little olive oil, and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven to 375°F and continue to roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let rest under foil for 10 minutes.

Step 4: Strain the juices into a bowl and spoon off surface fat. Remove string and carve across lamb, parallel to the bone. Arrange on warm plates, drizzle with juices, and serve with lemon wedges.

Ingredients

1 leg of lamb, around 4-1/2 lb.
3 tbsp roughly chopped parsley
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 anchovies, chopped
2 tbsp salted capers, rinsed
1 tbsp coarsely grated lemon zest
4 tbsp soft fresh bread crumbs
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 rosemary sprigs
Extra olive oil to drizzle
1 lemon, quartered

Directions

Yield:

Step 1: Heat the oven to 425°F. Holding the leg of lamb with its meatiest side toward you, slash 5 times almost to the bone, at 1″ intervals.

Step 2: Combine the parsley, garlic, anchovies, capers, lemon zest, and bread crumbs in a bowl. Mix in the olive oil to make a paste. Push between the lamb slashes, reshape the meat, and tie with string.

Step 3: Scatter with rosemary, drizzle with a little olive oil, and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven to 375°F and continue to roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let rest under foil for 10 minutes.

Step 4: Strain the juices into a bowl and spoon off surface fat. Remove string and carve across lamb, parallel to the bone. Arrange on warm plates, drizzle with juices, and serve with lemon wedges.

Photographer:

©istockphoto.com/Joe Gough