Roasted Leg of Lamb with Bitter Herbs

 

I recently conquered a huge fear of mine.  I cooked lamb.  I've eaten really bad lamb, and that is why I feared cooking it.  Especially for other people to eat it.  This last week I had to get over it, and figure it out because I was asked to cook the lamb for our Relief Society (Women's group at church) Passover activity.  It was really important to get it right.  Part of the symbolism of the Passover feast is to eat ALL of the lamb.  That would be hard to do if the Lamb was rough, tough and nasty.  I googled and read A LOT of recipes.  I ended up taking lots of bits and pieces from different places to make my own.  We bought 2 bone in legs of lamb.  I made a rub of bitter herbs, and roasted them together in a roasting pan side by side.  It turned out so yummy!  It was a huge relief!

 

 

 

Ingredients

4 1/2 pound leg of lamb (Bone in or boneless will work.  Takes longer to roast with bone in.)

2 tsp. ground Coriander

4 cloves of Garlic, Crushed

1 tsp. ground Cumin

2 tsp. Kosher rock salt

2 TBSP. Olive Oil

 

Trim the fat off the lamb.  Score the meaty parts deeply with a sharp knife.  In a small bowl mix the oil and spices with a fork.  Use your hands and rub into the meat, working it into the scored marks. 

 

Roast at 350 degrees, uncovered.  I roasted the bone in roast for just over 3 hours.  A boneless roast should be checked at about 2 1/2 hours.  I took it out of the oven and checked it with a meat thermometer.  Let it rest for 10-15 minutes. 

 

For the purpose of the Passover activity I roasted the lamb the night before, cut the meat off the bone and cubed it all.  It was very yummy, but I needed it to be yummy in 24 hours.  I put the lamb pieces in a large baking dish covered in foil.  Before reheating I sprinkled more ground coriander all over the cold lamb.  I then drizzled 1/2 cup of beef broth all over the pieces.  (If you are reheating 1 lamb roast then use a 1/4 cup of beef broth.)  I wanted to enrich the flavor, and not dry the meat out while reheating.  I covered tightly with foil, and warmed in the oven at 300 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.

*For our Passover activity we served with the bitter herbs Watercress, Cilantro and Horseradish and used Pita bread as Unleavened bread.  It was seriously delicious.  I want to do this with my family next year.  We served Fig bread pudding with cashews for dessert after the activity.  It made a great meal.  We were all very spiritually and physically fed.