- 6
Ingredients
- 20 large young garlic cloves
- 1/2 tablespoon rosemary leaves
- 1/2 tablespoon thyme leaves
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 trimmed leg of lamb, about 3 1/2 lb
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
Preparation
Step 1
Active Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
Yield: Serves 6
On French tables, a leg of lamb is by far the most popular choice for the Sunday roast. One of the most popular breeds of lamb is that from Haute Provence and Normandy, called pre'sale'. The name means "of salted meadows," due to the fact that they graze in meadows beside the sea, which gives a delicate salty taste to their meat. The French prefer lamb to mutton, which to them tastes too strong. Garlic is a traditional and indispensable complement to lamb.
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
20 large young garlic cloves
1/2 tablespoon rosemary leaves
1/2 tablespoon thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 trimmed leg of lamb, about 3 1/2 lb
2 tablespoons peanut oil
Leg of Lamb with Pureed Garlic Recipe at Cooking.com
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DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Peel the outer layers of the garlic cloves, but leave the last layer: so you have garlic cloves in jackets. Peel 1 of these cloves and cut it into 6 strips. In a bowl, combine the rosemary, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon fine salt and milled pepper. Roll the strips of garlic in this mixture.
Pierce the leg of lamb in 6 places with the point of a knife and slide the spiced garlic strip in each slit. Lightly oil the leg and season it with the rest of the seasoning mixture in the bowl.
Oil a big enamel plate or roasting pan, place a rack inside and put the lamb, flat side up, on the rack. Oil the garlic cloves in their jackets and slide them onto the plate, under the lamb.
Put the plate in the oven and cook for 25 minutes. Turn the leg, reduce the temperature to 450 degrees F and cook for 25 minutes. Watch the garlic cloves and turn them. Be sure that their juices do not burn; they must only caramelize. If the garlic begins to brown too much, add a few tablespoons of hot water from time to time.
After 50 minutes of cooking, a leg of this weight is cooked rare. Turn it and let stand for 10 minutes in the turned-off oven.
At serving time, discard the cooking fat in the plate. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water to the plate if the juice is caramelized, then pour this sauce in a sauceboat. Add the mashed pulp of 2 of the roasted garlic cloves.
Put the leg on a serving platter and surround it with the garlic cloves in jackets: each guest will lightly mash the cloves to recover the pulp and eat it with the meat or spread it on slices of toasted bread.