Slow-roasted marinated lamb

I know, it’s already days after Easter, but I didn’t have the chance to cook a real Easter Lunch or dinner yet.  And when I saw the recipes for this lovely Easter menu on Nullam Microwaveum’s blog, I just had to try it.  I had a 2.7 kg lamb leg in my freezer waiting just for the perfect recipe.  And perfect it was, and almost no work at all!  I asked NM if I could copy the recipes to my blog, so here goes!

Slow-roasted, marinated lamb that melts in the mouth

• 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) lamb leg or shoulder (the original recipe calls for shoulder, but I had a deboned leg)
• 4 branches of rosemary, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, pressed (for the marinade)
• 2 whole garlic bulbs, cut in 2 (so the cloves are showing cut in half)
• 1 TBS salted capers, rinsed, chopped
• 3 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 2 whole lemons (zest and juice)
• 2 red onions, cut in 4 pieces
• a glass of (white) wine

Mix the rosemary, pressed garlic cloves, capers, anchovy fillets, olive oil, zest and juice of 1 lemon (keep the ‘empty’ lemon halves) for the marinade.   Using a sharp knife, make small incisions all over the lamb leg and rub the marinade on the whole leg.  Let it rest for a few hours.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) (depending on your oven, mine is a big hot-air oven and I have to put it a little lower, at around 160°C or 320°F).

Put the lamb in a big casserole and add the onions, pour the juice of 1 lemon over the lamb and add the ‘empty’ lemons to the casserole.  Add the garlic bulb halves to the casserole, with the cut sides up.  Put the casserole in the oven and let it roast for 1 hour.

Lower the oven temperature to 160°C (320°F – in my oven that should be 140°C or 285°F), turn the lamb leg around and let it roast for a few more hours, flipping the meat over and pouring marinade on top of it, or until the internal temperature of the meat is at 60 – 65°C (140 – 150°F).  Take the casserole out of the oven, cover with a few layers of tin foil and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Lemon-oregano sweet potatos

• 1 kg (2.2 lb) sweet potatoes, cut in widges (the original recipe is for ‘normal’ potatoes, but I just “primalized” it 😉 ).
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• olive oil
• oregano
• few cloves of garlic, chopped

Mix together and roast in a pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes at 200°C (390°F).

Haricots with garlic and sliced almonds

• 1 kg (2.2 lb) haricots (green beans)
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook the haricots ‘al dente’ (5 to 10 minutes), then put them immediately in ice-cold water, so they keep their green color.

Heat the olive oil in a wok on medium fire and fry the sliced garlic for about 1 minute.   Add the sliced almonds and fry for about 2 – 3 minutes.  Add the haricots and season with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately when the haricots are warm.

I have no pictures to show, as it was so good I just forgot!

Ik weet het, het is al dagen na Pasen, maar ik heb dit jaar de kans niet gekregen om een echte paaslunch (of dinner) te maken.  En toen ik het geweldige Paasmenu zag op het blog van Nullam Microwaveum, moest ik het gewoon proberen.  Ik had nog een lamsbout van  2.7 kg in de diepvriezer die lag te wachten op het perfecte recept.  En perfect was het, en bijna geen werk!  Ik heb zelfs geen foto kunnen nemen, omdat het zo lekker was, geen tijd gehad!  Wil je deze feestmaaltijd van langzaam gegaarde gemarineerde lamsschouder die smelt in de mond, citroen-oregano aardappelen en succulente sperziebonen met look en amandelen ook eens maken?  De recepten vind je hier.