For a special spring dinner, there is nothing better than tender juicy leg of lamb and wonderful Greek style roast potatoes. We buy leg of lamb at our local farmers market but any good quality lamb will do. Remember to defrost the leg in advance in the refrigerator. The cooking direcctions may seem long but they are straight forward and the results are well worth it.
Ingredients
- 1 5-6 pound bone in leg of lamb
- 1 head of garlic, peeled and cut into slices
- 5 Teaspoons fine sea salt
- 2 Teaspoons fresh ground pepper
- 2 Teaspoons sweet paprika
- 2 medium onions peeled and quartered
- 1 Cup dry white wine
- 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 10 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 Tablespoon dried Greek oregano
- 3 bay leaves
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- hot water
- medium sized Yukon gold or russet potatoes
Directions for Lamb
- Insert the garlic slivers into the lamb by pushing them into small cuts made with a paring knife. Put as many of the slices as you can into the lamb.
- Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack in the middle position.
- Mix the salt, pepper and paprika together in a small bowl.
- Place the leg of lamb, fat side down, in a lidded dutch oven just slightly larger than the leg. An enameled cast iron pan is ideal.
- Drizzle the lamb with olive oil and sprinkle it with the spice mixture. I used about 2/3 of the mixture and saved the rest for later use.
- Place the dutch oven uncovered in the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 minutes to brown the leg.
- After 30 minutes, put the quartered onions around the lamb, add any remaining garlic, add the herbs, lemon juice, wine, olive oil. Add enough hot water to bring the liquid 1/3 of the way up the lamb.
- Cover the dutch oven and place it back in the oven for 1 hour then baste the lamb.
- After 2 hours, baste the lamb again, remove the lid, turn over the leg, and cook 30 minutes uncovered to brown the other side.
- After 30 minutes, add more hot water if needed and replace the lid.
- After 30 more minutes baste the lamb again.
- Bake another another 30 minutes so the total time in the oven is 4 hours.
- Remove the lamb from the oven and baste again then let it rest covered until the potatoes are done.
Directions for Potatoes
- Turn up the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Quarter the potatoes and place them in another roasting pan. A disposable pan makes cleaning up much easier.
- Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh ground salt and pepper.
- Add enough of the juice from the lamb to come 1/3 of the way up the potatoes
- Place the potatoes in the oven and roast until they are fork tender, 35-45 minutes depending on the potatoes.
Slice the lamb and serve with the juices poured over the lamb and potatoes.
Greek style green beans and a tossed salad of baby greens with feta cheese and pomegranate seeds complement the lamb and potatoes.