Leg of lamb with herbs and young turnips topcook.tomathouse.com
Ingredients:
- 1 (3-4 kg) leg of lamb, without pelvic bone
- 1300 g young white turnips with greens (approximately 8 bunches)
- 6 plum-shaped tomatoes, cut each into eighths
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 lemons
- 6 bunches green Luke
- 1 cup fresh parsley
- 1 cup fresh dill
- 1/4 cup fresh marjoram
- 3 inner stalks celery, coarsely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic
Preparation:
- Place a rack or baking sheet in the lower part of the oven and preheat to 260°C (400°F). Using a knife, make deep slashes all over the meat, spaced 2 inches apart. Rub the meat with 2 tablespoons of salt and a small amount of ground black pepper. Place the leg of lamb in the roasting pan, fat side up. Squeeze a lemon over the top.
- Roast the lamb until most of the fat has rendered and the skin is starting to brown, about 30 minutes. Place the roasting pan on a cutting board and let it rest for 30 to 40 minutes. Discard the fat from the roasting pan.
- Trim the greens from the turnip roots (the remaining greens can be used for stewing). Cut large roots in half.
- Coarsely chop 2 bunches of green onions and place in a food processor. Add parsley, dill, marjoram, celery, and garlic and chop coarsely. Rub the leg of lamb with the herbs.
- Cut the remaining 4 bunches of green onions into 2-inch (5 cm) skewers. Arrange the green onions, turnips, and tomatoes around the leg of lamb and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Squeeze 2 lemons over the top and drizzle with olive oil. Cover loosely with foil.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and roast the lamb for 1 hour. Remove the foil and continue roasting for another 30-45 minutes. Check for doneness with a thermometer inserted into the widest part of the leg of lamb.
For medium-rare meat, with light pink juices running through it, the thermometer should read 60-65°C. For rare meat, with clear juices running through it, the temperature should be 65-69°C. For well-done meat, with almost no juices running through it, the temperature should be above 70°C.
Remove the leg of lamb from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes, then slice the meat. Serve the lamb with vegetables and the juices.
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