Roast Lamb Leg with Gravy

This recipe combines warm Middle Eastern influenced flavors like pomegranate molasses, turmeric, cumin, garlic and honey to perfectly flavor a roasted leg of lamb that’s cooked low and slow within the oven to offer you a showstopping main.

I love roasted lamb. Cooking lamb is really one among the simplest and most hands off things. Marinade your meat- this will be done overnight, a few hours before, or maybe right before roasting. Then, stick it within the oven for the magic to happen. Patience is all you need! If you would like an alternate way of preparing lamb, a slow cooker is certainly the thanks to go.   

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Prepping the lamb:   

We always have the butcher trim the maximum amount of the fat as possible, personal preference. When it involves marinading, it are often as simple as herbs and olive oil/butter, but I liked the mixture of spices I saw listed for Lin’s food’s recipe. Garlic, tangy pomegranate molasses, honey, juice , olive oil, cumin, turmeric, saffron and rosemary. Bold flavors wiped out restraint to let the taste of the lamb come through.  

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Roasting your leg of lamb:  

You want your oven hot but not too hot. a perfect range would be between 160-170 C (320-340 F). Wrap the pan the lamb is in tightly with foil to make a parcel that lets the lamb get steamed. We remove the foil for the second half an hour to urge that crispy brown skin on the surface. After 3 hours, check the lamb by employing a fork to tug the meat faraway from the bone and see if it’s tender enough. If not, cook longer. Cooking longer (at a temperature not above 170C) allows the collagen within the lamb to interrupt down and tenderize. Rest the lamb after cooking for 20 minutes approximately before cutting into it in order that all the juices remain trapped inside.   

I served this with plain basmati rice that I topped with crispy onions and pomegranate seeds. you'll make a gravy as I outlined within the recipe below very easily using the pan juices, and use it to pour over the rice or a side of potatoes.

Stay tuned for my favorite potato recipe coming soon to the blog, or make some classic roasted potatoes. Root vegetables are always a win, but i prefer the entire rice and lamb combo with an easy side salad, makes for a very complete meal.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and please comment below with any questions or feedback 

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5 from 1 vote

Roasted Leg of Lamb

An Iranian spiced leg of lamb with warm cumin, turmeric, honey and pomegranate molasses. Marinade, stick it in the oven, then forget about it!

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time2 hrs 30 mins

Resting Time20 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keyword: lamb

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 600kcal

Author: Farah Abumaizar

Ingredients

For the marinade:

• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon squeezed
• 2 tbsp liquid saffron see note
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves only finely chopped

For the lamb:

• 1 leg of lamb, 1.5-2kg (3.5-4.5 pounds)
• 3 large onions, sliced
• 1 cup chicken stock

For the gravy:

• 4 tbsp flour
• 1/2-1 cup water

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 170 C (325 F)
• Using a sharp knife,slash the leg of lamb all over making deep cuts
• Whisk together all the marinade ingredients
• Massage the marinade into the lamb, pushing it into the cuts you made and all over.
• Scatter onions all along the bottom of your baking sheet, then place lamb leg on the onions, putting the fattier juicer side of the leg upside down directly touching the onions.
• Pour the chicken stock on the onions, then cover pan tightly with foil and place in preheated oven.
• Roast for 3-4 hours . After 3 hours, check if lamb is tender by using a fork to lift a chunk of meat off the bone. If it isn't tender enough, return to the oven for another hour.
• Remove foil, turn lamb around and roast uncovered for a further 30-45 minutes to brown.

To make gravy:

• Remove the lamb and onions from the pan, then place the roasting pan with the pan juices on the stove top. Remove a little of the fat off the top, and heat over medium heat until liquid bubbles.
• Whisk in the flour once the liquid bubbles, and keep whisking while liquid reduces to a thick gravy consistency. Once it thickens considerably, add 1/2-1 cup of water and whisk this in until you get your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and strain into a bowl.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Lin’s Food.

To make the liquid saffron, combine a pinch of saffron threads that you have crumbled into a fine powder between your fingertips to a pinch of salt and 2 tbsp of hot water (not boiling, let boiled water cool for 3-5 minutes before adding). Steep for 15-20 minutes then use all in the recipe including the residue.