My mother’s parents immigrated to the United States in the early part of the 20th century from Greece. Easter by far and away is the most important religious holiday in the Greek Orthodox Church. Growing up my mother and her family would celebrate Easter with family and friends with a whole roasted baby lamb. My grandfather, my Papou, would buy the lamb and bring it to a bakery on 14th St. and First Avenue in Manhattan to be roasted. Papou would then take the subway home to Brooklyn, lamb in hand, so the family could celebrate Easter. As much as I would like to recreate my mother’s wonderful childhood memories, I’m not prepared to roast a whole lamb, but I do look forward to celebrating with the family by slow roasting a leg of lamb in the oven. I have tried different recipes over the years, but this recipe from Martha Stewart Living, is my favorite. I have adapted it a little over the years so this is the version, I’m sharing with you today. Kalo pasha……….
Happy Greek Easter!From by the bay wishing you the happiest Easter and food memories! Maryann
Ingredients
1 leg of lamb approximately 9 pounds, bone in
1 teaspoon olive oil, plus 1/4 teaspoon
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium head garlic
1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/3 cup chardonnay
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
Directions
Let leg of lamb stand at room temperature for one hour. Preheat oven to 325 degree F. Rub lamb with 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 pepper. Place into a heavy roasting pan. Meantime, rub head of garlic with 1/4 teaspoon olive oil, wrap in aluminum foil and roast in the oven for about 1 hour until very soft. Let cool. Cut off the head of the garlic and squeeze cloves into a bowl. Use a fork to mash garlic into a paste. Add the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, oregano, parsley, thyme leaves and remaining salt and pepper. Mix well and place to the side. Place lamb into the oven and roast for approximately 1 1/4 hours. Rotate pan and roast another 30 minutes. Remove lamb and slather it with the roasted garlic and herb mixture and place back into the oven to roast another hour or until thermometer inserted at the thickest part reads 160 degrees for medium and 170 degrees for well done. Remove from oven and let rest for 20 minutes. Transfer lamb to cuttting board and cover with foil. Pour off fat from the roasting pan and place on medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and stir with wood spoon. Pour in chardonnay to deglaze pan, scraping up the brown bits, reduce liquid to 1/2 and then add the chicken broth, stirring to combine. Add rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. Slice the lamb and serve with the gravy to the side.
