Persian flavoured roast leg of lamb

 

The spice rub using Persian black limes or loomi and chiles gives this roast lamb a fantastic citrus kick.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Total time: 2-3 hours (You may need to start the day before).

 

Ingredients:

1 bone-in leg of lamb

4 tbsp black lime chile spice mix

¼ cup of olive oil

2 tbsp salt

2 tsp ground black pepper

1-2 cups chicken broth

 

For gravy

2/3 cup red wine

2 cups chicken broth

1 ½ tbsp of flour (or 2 tbsp of cake meal if making it for Passover)

 

Method:

If using frozen lamb, be sure to take it out with enough time to completely defrost (always best the day before).

Take lamb out of the fridge one hour before you want to start cooking. Clean and prepare it, cutting a series of slits all over the meat, which will allow the rub/marinade to penetrate it nicely.

Place the lamb on a rack in a roasting tray.

In a small bowl, combine the spice mix, olive oil, salt, and pepper together to make a wet paste. Using a basting brush, brush the lamb all over with the spicy oil, making sure you get it into those little slits as much as possible.

Leave meat to sit at room temperature and marinate for about an hour. You can cover it with foil but I don’t. (You can do this the night before and wrap it in plastic to marinate and then take it out 30 min before cooking to get to room temperature.)

Just before you’re ready to start cooking, heat the oven to 425F.

Add 1-2 cups of broth to the bottom of the roasting pan and put the meat – uncovered and fat side up – into the oven uncovered for 20 minutes. This gives a nice sear and keeps the roast moist.

Reduce oven temperature to 325F and roast a until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of flesh near the bone reaches 135F (medium-rare) or 140F (medium), 60-90 minutes depending on the size of the roast.  While cooking, continue checking the liquid in the bottom of the pan and add water or broth to make sure it doesn’t dry out.

Remove pan from the oven, remove rack from the pan, and let the roast rest on the rack for at least 15 to 20 minutes, tented with foil. The internal temperature will rise to about 145F-150F.

To make the gravy, take the roasting pan and put it across 2 burners on the stove over medium-high heat. Whisk together the flour and about ½ cup of chicken broth in a glass. Add wine to the drippings in the pan and scrape up all the brown bits from the edge. Add about a cup of chicken broth and stir all together then add the flour/broth mixture. Stir to make sure all the parts are combined and bring to the boil. Let simmer until thickened for about 3-5 minutes. If it’s too thick add a bit of broth or water and if not thick enough let simmer a bit longer. Add any extra juices from the resting lamb and mix together before removing from the heat. Taste and season. Decant into a bowl or gravy boat.

Carve lamb. Serve with delicious gravy. Be thrilled about discovering the wonderful flavour of the black lime. 

Roast potatoes or any other roast veg are a great accompaniment for this dish.

©️ Gail J. Cohen 2022