Rosemary and lamb are truly a blessed match of flavours.
Ingredients
- 1 leg of lamb (4 to 6 lb/2 to 2.7 kg) or 2 legs suckling lamb (2 to 3 lb/1 to 1.5 kg each)
- 6 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- Half onion, minced
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) fennel seeds
- 1 tsp (5 mL) salt
- 1/2 tsp (2 mL) black pepper
- 1 cup (250 mL) (approx) dry red wine
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
Steps
- If lamb is tied into roast, untie. Place lamb in resealable plastic bag or glass or ceramic bowl. In bowl, combine garlic, onion, rosemary, fennel, 1/4 tsp/1 mL of the salt and pepper; rub all over lamb. Pour wine and oil over lamb to cover, adding more wine to cover if necessary. Marinate, refrigerated, overnight or for up to 2 days (6 to 12 hours for suckling lamb). Bring to room temperature. Remove lamb from marinade, reserving marinade; with spices sticking to surface, tie into roast.
- Place in roasting pan; sprinkle with remaining salt. Roast in 350°F/180°C oven for 30 minutes. Pour marinade over roast; roast, basting with pan juices every 20 minutes until desired doneness, about 1-1/2 hours for medium-rare or internal temperature of 150°F/65°C.
- Transfer roast to carving platter; keep warm. Place roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add enough water to make 1 cup/250 mL liquid. Boil, stirring and scraping up brown bits with wooden spoon, until sauce is reduced by half. Serve with lamb.
