Classic Greek Roasted Leg Of Lamb With Lemon Garlic Potatoes Recipes

TRADITIONAL GREEK ROASTED LAMB AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Pat dry the lamb using paper towels and place it in a roasting pan. Using a sharp knife, make several incisions in the lamb and insert the slivered garlic and half of the rosemary leaves.
• Whisk together the olive oil, salt, pepper, the other half of the garlic (minced), the other half of the rosemary (chopped), thyme, oregano and lemon zest. Pour the marinade over the lamb making sure to cover it on all sides. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• 30 minutes before you are ready to roast the lamb, remove it from the refrigerator and turn on the oven to 450°F.
• Wrap the lamb and its marinade well with parchment paper (not wax paper) and then with aluminum foil (this will ensure that all the juices stay with the meat and do not leek.) If you do not have parchment paper, use two layers of foil instead. Place the roasting pan with the lamb in the middle rack of the oven, cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 360°F. Roast for 2 hours.
• While the lamb roasts, cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and then in quarters. If the potatoes are large, cut each quarter in half again. Place them in a medium bowl and toss them with the salt, pepper, oregano, and lemon juice.
• After two hours, remove the roast from the oven, open the wrapping carefully and check it. At this point, the bone should be loose and starting to come away from the meat. If it is not, cover the lamb again, return it to the oven, and roast for another 15 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 400°F. Uncover the lamb; there should be about a cup of its juices in the pan. If there is not enough liquid, add enough hot water to make about 1 cup. Scatter the potatoes around and under the lamb and return the pan to the oven for about 20-30 minutes until the skin of the lamb is brown and crisp (cover loosely with a piece of foil if the lamb becomes too dark before this time).
• At this point, remove only the lamb from the roasting pan and transfer it to a platter. Cover it loosely with some foil and let it rest for 20 minutes. Continue roasting the potatoes for another 15 minutes, or so, until they become soft and have a nice golden color. There should be still plenty of juice in the pan.
• To serve, spoon some pan juices over the lamb, divide it in four portions and serve it alongside the lemon potatoes. Garnish with some lemon slices and enjoy with a glass of Merlot.

CLASSIC GREEK ROASTED LEG OF LAMB WITH LEMON-GARLIC POTATOES

Steps:

• Trim the excess fat off the lamb and set aside.
• Finely chop the whole garlic head.
• Combine with the remaining marinade ingredients.
• Place the lamb in a large, deep container or baking dish and pour in the marinade.
• Turn the lamb in the marinade so that it is coated all over.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Using a mortar and pestle, crush the ingredients for the dry rub all together until they are pastelike in consistency.
• Remove the lamb from the marinade and discard the marinade.
• Make 10-15 small incisions all over its surface using a small, sharp paring knife.
• Stuff each of these little holes with the dry rub and rub whatever is left over the surface of the lamb.
• Season well with salt and pepper and rub the lamb with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Place the potatoes in a large roasting pan and toss with the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and oregano.
• Season well with salt and pepper.
• Place the lamb over the potatoes.
• Roast, frequently basting both the lamb and the potatoes with the pan juices for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, for a well-done leg.
• Add a little water to the pan during baking if necessary to keep the pan juices from drying out.
• Remove the lamb from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before carving.
• Keep the potatoes in the turned off oven until ready to serve.

GREEK STYLE ROAST LEG OF LAMB WITH LEMON ROASTED POTATOES

Steps:

• Pierce the leg of lamb with a knife and insert the slivers of garlic all around the surface.
• Mix the remaining garlic, oregano, rosemary, thyme, the juice and zest of 1 lemon, the oil, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper, rub the mixture over the lamb and let it marinade in the fridge for 1 hour to over night.
• Place the lamb on a rack in your roasting pan, top it with some of the marinade and place enough water in the pan to cover the bottom without touching the lamb.
• Cover in foil and roast in a preheated 450F/230C oven on the middle rack until tender enough to easily pull from the bone, about 2-4 hours, adding more water if needed.
• Reduce the heat to 350F/180C and roast until browned, remove from the oven cover in foil and let rest.
• Remove the drippings from the pan reserving them.
• Skim off a few tablespoons of the fat from the drippings and toss the potato wedges in them along with the juice of one lemon, oregano, salt and pepper to taste.
• Cut the remaining lemons into wedges, add them to the pan along with the potato wedges and roast at 450F/230C until the potatoes are tender on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside, about 30-45 minutes.

GREEK ROAST LAMB AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• In large bowl, whisk together the orange juice, mustard, olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir the potatoes into the bowl to coat with orange juice mixture. Remove potatoes with a slotted spoon, and place them into a large roasting pan.
• Cut slits into the lamb meat, and stuff the garlic cloves into the slits. Rub remaining orange juice mixture from bowl all over the lamb, and place the lamb on top of the potatoes in the roasting pan. If there's any remaining orange juice mixture, pour it over the lamb.
• Roast in the preheated oven until the potatoes are tender and the lamb is cooked to medium, about 1 hour. A meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat should read 140 degrees F (60 degrees C). Check every 30 minutes while roasting, and add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of hot water if you find the potatoes are drying out. If the lamb finishes cooking before the potatoes, remove the lamb to a cutting board or serving platter and cover with foil while the potatoes continue to bake in the oven.

GREEK ROAST LEG OF LAMB WITH POTATOES

Steps:

• Wash lamb well and pat dry.
• Finely chop 8 cloves of garlic and place in a glass dish or sturdy plastic bag large enough to hold the lamb.
• Stir in 4 tsps each of oregano and rosemary, 1/4 cup of the oil, the wine, zest and lemon juice.
• Place lamb in marinade, turning to coat well on all sides; cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Crush remaining 6 cloves of garlic and stir together with remaining 2 tsps each oregano and rosemary.
• Remove lamb from marinade (keep marinade) and pierce in several places with the tip of a sharp knife.
• Rub garlic-herb-mustard mixture over lamb, pressing into incisions.
• Coat with remaining 2 tbsp of oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.
• Peel potatoes and cut into large wedges or like cottage fries (or if you are using small, new potatoes, leave them whole).
• Toss in the marinade kept from the lamb and 2 additional tablespoons of olive oil and pour all of this mixture into your pan, around the lamb.
• Roast, uncovered, in 190 degrees C (375 F) oven for 1 ½ hours, turn lamb over to make a crust on the other side, give potatoes a stir and continue to roast for another 45 minutes (total roasting time - 2 hours and 15 minutes).
• Greeks do not like to eat lamb anyway but well-done.
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding was SO WRONG when they showed the platter of (red-pink lamb being passed around).
• Do it the way you prefer in terms of timing, but this is the way it would be served here.
• Serve with plenty of crusty bread to dip into the pan juices, a large, leafy salad, and lots and lots of red wine!