| A Boned Leg of Lamb for Easter (Tested Recipe) |
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April 10, 2000 -- Rosemary, garlic, juniper berries and red vermouth season this boned and rolled leg of lamb for an Easter feast. (SHNS photo courtesy The Cincinnati Post.)
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By Joyce Rosencrans
Scripps Howard News Service I once watched a restaurant owner expertly carve a leg of lamb to feed a crowd of cooking-class students. She maneuvered that long, slender knife around the shank bone until she managed to get plenty of sliced lamb to feed 10 at least. Remarkable. It was perfectly roasted, too, a tender pink color at the center of each slice. Whenever I try carving a leg of lamb -- which isn't that often because a whole leg, Frenched and with the sirloin included, is a minimum $35 investment -- my carving knife produces more hunks than slices, enough to feed about six people. I'm left with a meaty bone and a rather messy platter. So in this humbled state, I'd prefer to serve Easter guests a leg of lamb that some patient meat cutter has boned, rolled and tied. (Call ahead to request this service, which takes time.) Seasoning is no problem. Lamb and garlic go together. In this recipe, rosemary, garlic, juniper berries, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper are rubbed over the surface of the roast as sort of a semi-dry rub. The mixture is moistened with red vermouth, a handy cooking ingredient, either red or white vermouth. This fortified wine keeps months, even after opening, in the cupboard or liquor cabinet. Vermouths are also distilled with a combination of more than 30 herbs and spices, including sage, coriander, allspice and Roman chamomile, in the case of Martini & Rossi vermouths. When added to a sauce, stock or marinade, vermouth adds many subtle flavors. It's been called a spice rack in a bottle. Fresh rosemary sprigs have fragrant, evergreen-like needles. The piney aroma is best if fresh and the leaves are still soft and pliable. Dried rosemary is needle-sharp, even after cooking, so strive to find fresh. Rosemary wasn't named for a woman, but for its preferred habitat by the sea. The true name Rosmarinus means "dew of the sea." Garlic cloves are part of the vermouth marinade, but save a couple to peel and sliver lengthwise. Then insert them at knife point into the leg of lamb at evenly spaced intervals. Juniper berries come dried in a jar in the supermarket spice aisle. They're the flavoring for sauerbraten and, more importantly, gin, which is also evocative of an evergreen forest. Some people have said gin tastes like Christmas, so juniper berries are a natural with rosemary. My choices to round out an Easter menu showcasing this delightful lamb entree are new potatoes -- boiled, buttered and parsleyed -- plus fresh asparagus or Sugar Snap peas. As a fruity component of the menu, I suggest red grapefruit sorbet. It can be a first course, between-courses palate cleanser or light dessert. Don't ask me why freshly squeezed grapefruit juice makes one of the best sorbets, but it does. The pink juice is tinted by more red vermouth, so you're getting double duty from one bottle. To creatively present the sorbet, follow a professional chef's suggestion for making pineapple cups. From a peeled portion of a fresh pineapple, cut six, wafer-thin, round slices with the core intact. Bake them on a cookie sheet until semi-dry, then tuck each pineapple slice into a muffin cup and let stand 30 minutes to become molded in that shape for an unusual, edible "dish."
Grapefruit Sorbet in Pineapple Cups Recipe from Phillip J. McGrath, executive chef, The Castle at Tarrytown, Tarrytown, N.Y. Ingredients: 1/2 cup red vermouth
1-1/4 cups freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
2 Tbs. light brown sugar
1 fresh pineapple
Fresh mint for garnish Preparation: Melt brown sugar in vermouth. Cool and then add to grapefruit juice. Chill for 2 hours. Freeze in an ice cream maker or still-freeze in a shallow metal pan, stirring from time to time with a fork to break up large ice crystals. Meanwhile, make pineapple cups. Heat oven to 275 degrees. Using a long-bladed, serrated knife, slice off bottom and top pieces and discard. Standing pineapple upright on its now-flat bottom, cut lengthwise, following outer curve, to remove peel. Gouge out the "eyes" with small knife tip. Slice the peeled pineapple crosswise to form very thin circular pieces that are 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Use center cuts, so slices are about the same diameter. Do not core. (Cut remaining pineapple into thicker slices and dice flesh from the core; use for salad or dessert.) Place the thin slices on a nonstick baking sheet or a sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until slightly brown. Remove from oven and fit each slice into a muffin cup to mold. Let set about 30 minutes. To serve, place a small scoop of grapefruit sorbet in each pineapple cup and garnish with fresh mint. Set each on a dessert plate or support pineapple in sherbet dishes, if necessary. Serves: 6
Leg of Lamb with Garlic, Rosemary and Juniper Ingredients: Recipes adapted from Delizioso! newsletter by Martini & Rossi, maker of Rosso (red) vermouth. 1 boned leg of lamb, trimmed, rolled, tied (4 to 5 lbs.) Ingredients for Marinade: 5 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves
7 dried juniper berries
1/2 cup red vermouth
1 Tbs. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper Preparation: The night before, prepare the boned leg of lamb. Rinse it under cold, running water and pat dry with paper towels. Place lamb in a shallow baking dish or roasting pan with low sides. On a cutting board, crush juniper berries with the bottom of a small saucepan. Roughly chop the rosemary leaves. Slice 2 of the garlic cloves lengthwise into thin slivers. Pierce lamb with knife tip and insert garlic, one per slit. Chop remaining garlic into a small mixing bowl; scrape in the crushed juniper berries and chopped fresh rosemary from cutting board. Stir in the red vermouth. Season lamb generously with the kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Rub the marinade mixture over the lamb, too, and marinate in fridge overnight. Have oven heating to 400 degrees, and the rack in lower third of oven. Roast the lamb leg about 45 minutes, turning once and basting with excess marinade. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and continue to roast the leg for another 45 to 60 minutes, until it reaches desired doneness. Allow lamb to rest 10 minutes before slicing. A more conventional roasting method is to begin and maintain 325 degrees the entire time, with end point being 140 degrees internal temperature for rare lamb, 160 for medium -- about 25 minutes per pound. Serves: 8 to 10
(Joyce Rosencrans is home editor of the Cincinnati Post.)
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