EASTER LEG OF LAMB

 

Lamb has always been a traditional dish to celebrate Easter in my family. The meat is tasty, juicy and the way it’s prepared, it will melt in your mouth! This recipe is easy to prepare and doesn’t require too much time. Happy Easter! This dish will pair beautifully with a Graves from Bordeaux, such as Chateau Carbonnieux!

 

1 bone-in leg of lamb

12 garlic cloves

10 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 tbsp of olive oil

2 tbsp of butter

Salt and pepper

1/3 cup of water

 

Put 1 tbsp of olive oil in a baking dish.

Peel 5 garlic cloves and cut them in half. Make some little incisions into the leg of lamb and add the pieces of garlic into different parts of the meat. Rub the leg of lamb with the other tbsp of olive oil.

Sprinkle the leg of lamb with the fresh thyme leaves. Season with salt.  Place the leg of lamb into the baking dish. Add the rest of the garlic cloves unpeeled around the meat. Cut the butter into little pieces and place them over the meat. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 460 F.

Cook the meat 15 minutes per pound. Turn the meat every 15 minutes.  Season with pepper when the meat is half cooked. Add a 1/3 of a cup of water 20 minutes before the meat is done to have some juice.

When the meat is cooked, turn the oven off. Place an aluminum foil on top of it and let stand 15 minutes into the oven with the door half opened.

Slice the meat and serve with grilled artichokes, ratatouille, couscous, grilled vegetables…

Bon Appetit!