Roast Leg of Lamb : Gigot d´Agneau : LCB at Home : Lesson 4 : Part 4

I keep saying the same thing... easy. But, really, it is!

The famed New Zealand leg of lamb; but fresh, not frozen, would be good.

What I did was...

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Roast Leg of Lamb : Gigot d´Agneau

oven at 225 C [450F]

Serves: 6 (max)

Ingredients

• 1,5 kilo leg of lamb , shortened (without the 'sirloin' attached) [3#]
• garlic, slices
• butter
• oil
• salt
• pepper
  
  
• an onion
• a carrot
• thyme
• bay leaf

Procedure

1. Remove the skin from the lamb leg; rip it right off (if it has skin, some don't)
   
2. Slice away the fell/silver-skin/parchment-skin from the surface of the leg; leaving the red meat showing
   
   
3. Stab/slice/slit the leg all over with a sharp paring knife and insert garlic slices into the slits
4. Rub with butter and oil; season with salt and pepper
   
   
5. Into the oven for 10 minutes
6. Turn it, then roast 10 minutes more
7. Toss in the veggies and thyme & bay leaf; turn it, 10 minutes more
8. Turn it; then roast for the last 10 minutes
   • After this (a total of 40 minutes) it will probably have reached 55 C [130 F] internal temperature
9. Remove it, put on a platter, rest (at least for 15 minutes - while you do the following)
   
   
10. Skim off excess fat, if any, from the roasting pan
11. On top of the stove, over medium heat, add a cup of water, deglaze
12. Simmer to reduce to a sauce
13. Strain the remove the veggies and stuff
14. Serve

Done

Notes

1. Some wrap the thing in kitchen string for a tighter shape. I didn't.
2. The garlic slices stay in the meat when serving; little surprises for the guests
3. Lamb is best served not well done
   
4. Good cold too.
   

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Roast Leg of Lamb : Gigot d´Agneau : LCB at Home : Lesson 4 : Part 1

Here's the whole set of pictures:

It started with Smoked Salmon Crepes

 

then Swiss Chard Gratin

and lamb

 

the lamb and swiss chard up close

 

and  Pineapple Sorbet for dessert

A wonderful time was had by all.  Write ups to follow for the various dishes.

Tayin de Cordero: Lamb Tajine (Tagine)

Simply put, it's Moroccan Stew. The authentic but funny looking apparatus that its cooked in is also called a tajine. It's a clay base with a cone shaped lid. A dutch oven can substitute.

This recipe has lots of ingredients but it's really quite easy. Great for groups, can be mostly prepared in advance. And it keeps well; it's delicious(er) the following day.

By the way, the # sign is short for pounds. I don't have any idea where that abbreviation originated. But I'm curious.

Ingredients:

• olive oil (virgin)
  
• 2 onions - fine rings
  
• 3 cloves garlic - minced
• 2 kg leg of lamb leg [4#] - deboned & cubed

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• 2 T ras el hanout (a Moroccan spice mix)
  
• 1 g saffron (½ t strands) [a pinch]
• 1 stick of cinnamon
  
• ½ t turmeric
• 1 t paprika (normal, not hot)
• 1 t salt
  
• 1 t white pepper
• water
  

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• 150 g dried apricots [½C]
  
• 150 g prunes [1C] - destoned
• 150 g dried figs [½C]
  
• 100 g raisins - dark [¼C]
• 150 g macadamia nuts - slightly cruched (almonds are the norm) (reserve a few)

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• 500 g potatoes [1#] - batons (batones/sticks)
• 250 g carrots [½#] - batons (batones/sticks)

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• 250 g tomatoes [½#] - crushed (canned, jars, whatever)
• 1 bunch of cilantro - chopped leaves (reserve a couple of sprigs for decoration)
  

Procedure:

1. Brown the onions
2. Add the lamb and brown that too
3. Add the spices
4. Cover with water
• get it boiling
• reduce to a simmer
• cover
• cook for 15 minutes
5. After those 15 minutes remove a ½ cup of the cooking liquid
6. Soak the dried fruits in the liquid (top up with water to cover, if needed)
• set aside
  
7. Continue cooking for 15 minutes more (now we're up to 30 minutes)
   
8. Add the carrots, fruits & and macadamias (reserve some for dusting on top later)
9. Cook for 15 more (adds up to 45 minutes)
10. Check the doneness of the lamb - when just about there…
• Add the potatoes
11. Cook for 10 more (adds up to almost 60 minutes)
12. Add tomatoes, chopped cilantro
    
13. Cook for 5 minutes (that makes about an hour)
14. - Done -
    
15. Dust crushed macadamias on top and decorate with a few leaves of cilantro
    

Notes:

1. Everything eventually goes into this one single pot so select a size that will hold it all and allow room to stir stuff.
   
2. I used my 7-spice mix of ras-el-hanout; not my 45-spice mixture. I actually bought these when I was in Morocco so they are super authentic. Oh, I bought the tagine pan there too.
3. Brown the lamb in batches if you have to. Avoid piling it in layers in your pan; it won't brown if there's too much in there
4. Before adding the tomatoes
   
5. When I use chopped cilantro I like to use only the leaves; not any of the stems
6. Many people don't seem to like cilantro. This is cooked, not raw, and has quite a different taste. Or chicken out and use parsley(?)
   

Short version:

• Total cooking time is probably just over an hour (depending on the cut of meat used)
  
• Brown onions, then meat
• Add spices, stir, add water to cover, simmer
• At some point soak the dried fruit in some cooking liquid
• Add carrots, fruits and nuts in the last ½ hour
• Add potatoes when the meat is tender (probably in the last 15 minutes)
  
• Add the tomatoes & cilantro when the potatoes are just about done and bring the dish back up to temperature
  
• Decorate with nuts and cilantro
• - Done -