Okay, so it’s not really that kind of roast, but I decided I wanted to do an entire roast dinner tonight to try to make clean up as easy as possible for all of us here. Michelle had picked up a boneless leg of lamb roast that she wanted for dinner this week. I looked through some of my cookbooks for different recipes, and everything seemed pretty straightforward and not very exciting. I wanted to try something else, so I turned to my Twitter account and posed a question to some food experts to see what kind of response I would get. Bon Appetit gave me quite a list of recipes to choose from to make the lamb. America’s Test Kitchen and Christopher Kimball both gave me some good tips as well, but nothing really jumped out at me that I felt like I really wanted to try, so I kept asking. And then I got an answer I liked from Alton Brown. He gave me the link to a recipe of his called “Silence of the Leg O’ Lamb.” While this recipe does call for the lamb to be grilled, that wasn’t really an option for me in New York in November. He also uses a charcoal grill, which I do not have, so I had to modify the recipe a bit to be roasted in the oven.
Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb
1 sirloin end leg of lamb, boned
4 cloves garlic
8 fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
5 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roughly chop the garlic cloves in the food processor. Add the mint and repeat. Add the brown sugar, salt, pepper, mustard and oil and blend into a paste. Spread the paste evenly on the meat side of the roast. Roll the leg into a roast shape and tie with butcher’s twine. Place the lamb in a shallow roasting pan and roast for about 20 minutes per pound, until the internal temperature of the lamb reaches 135 degrees. Remove the roast from the oven. Cover with foil and let the lamb rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
The paste made more than enough to also do the outside of the lamb, which I also did, creating a nice crust on the outside of the lamb. It was cooked perfectly and tasted wonderful. The hint of mint coming through the mustard was great and I loved the garlicky flavor that went throughout the meat. I roasted some potatoes in the same pan with the lamb and they got some of the same mustard crust on them, which made them extra crispy on the outside.
For a vegetable, we had picked up a nice head of cauliflower. I find steamed cauliflower to be very bland and frankly, kind of smelly and not always appealing. I decided to try roasting it instead and I am glad I did. It seemed to make all the difference in the world in taste, flavor and smell and since I was roasting in the oven already anyway, it made it just as easy.
Roasted Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower, cored and cut into florets
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the cauliflower florets in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil evenly over the florets, then sprinkle with the salt. Toss to coat the cauliflower evenly, then spread the florets out evenly.
Roast the cauliflower, stirring 1 or 2 times, until golden brown and crisp-tender, 25 to 35 minutes. Transfer the cauliflower to a warmed serving bowl. Serve immediately.
I loved the way it came out this way and would make it like this all the time. I can also use some of the leftovers to make some cauliflower soup for later on this week.
That’s it for tonight. Check back later on this week to see what else I come up with for meals. I have some more chicken ideas for this week and also have some cod to make, so we’ll have to see what I can find. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!
onedadskitchen 