Recipe Review: Roasted Leg of Lamb Review

The first recipe up for review is the Roasted Leg of Lamb recipe from Martha Stewart. I saw this recipe in Martha Stewart Living (either March or April) and decided to make it for Easter this year since it's nigh impossible to find ham cured without sugar in America. The recipe is also on Martha's website found here.

I had to tweak the recipe a tad- instead of a leg of lamb (with bone) I got a rack of lamb. My normal butcher is about an hour away in Amish country, so I decided to go with what I could find easily in the store. Most leg of lamb sold in Costco or Giant Eagle are all boneless, and well, bones add more flavor to the meat you are preparing and can also be used later on for homemade stock. So I changed how I roasted the lamb. I also opted to not make the gravy because I'm only cooking for two and I don't know what I would use to thicken gravy that would be GAPs approved. I'm not sure how well coconut flour would work, since it does a flavor all its own.  When I figure something out, I'll let you know.

The ingredients for the rub/dressing that you put on the lamb are as follows:

• 2 tablespoons coarse salt (I used Celtic Sea Salt)
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

The proportions and ingredients work really well together. The flavors were really spot on. I roasted my lamb in the oven at 350 for the first 1/2 hour and then kicked it up to 400 for the 2nd half (it was getting late). In hindsight I should have done it in reverse, but the final result was a rack of lamb cooked to a nice 140 degrees (I prefer my lamb more like a medium). I'm sure Martha's roasting method for a whole leg is fine.

Note: If mustard isn't your thing, you can substitute balsamic vinegar (just make sure it doesn't have sugar in it) instead. It works quite nicely as well with the lamb. 

Overall, I think this recipe is a winner. The flavor was good (when is garlic & rosemary not a good duo?!?), it was fairly easy to prepare, and the clean up wasn't too bad either. I tested it out before Easter, and liked it enough to make it for Easter. I would definitely make this again.