Moroccan Leg of Lamb With Mint Dressing
Updated June 5, 2024
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 2 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 9-to-11-pound bone-in leg of lamb, trimmed of fat and membrane
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup fruity-tasting olive oil
⅓ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon harissa (Moroccan chili paste), more for serving
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 to 10 servings)
2 grams carbs; 241 milligrams cholesterol; 810 calories; 26 grams monosaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams saturated fat; 58 grams fat; 391 milligrams sodium; 66 grams protein
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Score meaty side of lamb in a diamond pattern of ¼-inch-deep cuts about 1 ½ inches apart. Season with salt and pepper, and place scored-side up in a large roasting pan.
- Step 2
In a small bowl, whisk olive oil with lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, harissa, coriander seeds and cumin. Pour marinade over lamb and massage into crevices. Cover pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate 2 ½ hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 1 ½ hours before cooking to return lamb to room temperature; in last 15 minutes, heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Step 3
Remove foil from pan and place pan on middle oven rack; turn heat down to 350 degrees. Roast, basting lamb with pan juices every ½ hour, until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat reads 130 degrees, about 1 ¾ hours total. Remove from oven, tent loosely with foil, and let rest 15 minutes before carving. Serve with harissa and mint dressing.
Private Notes
Comments
Not bad. But next time try it with lamb - something where a leg weighs less than 2kg (4.5lb). (A leg weighing in at 9-11 lbs is an adult, almost mutton but definitely hogget, a 2-tooth.
Have to say: Nothing against this recipe, but to my mind you cannot improve upon Julia Child's recipe for a leg of lamb with a garlic mustard coating (includes ginger, thyme, olive oil). Slather the joint with the coating several hours before sticking it in a 350 oven for ninety minutes, Oven roasted potatoes. Green beans. Man.
Excellent flavor but if you like your lamb less than well done beware length of cooking!
I wonder if this would work with ham - my family won’t eat lamb, but the prep/marinade looks so good..
I cooked a 4lb roast. It took about an hour to get to well done. Oops. Not a surprise, in hindsight, since a smaller roast will have a better surface volume to mass ratio and so it’ll take proportionately less. It turns out that science works at home as well. The Mint sauce was a hit; although I thought it could use a teensy bit more salt. I took the advice of one of the other contributors and made the sauce ahead of time. As predicted, it mellowed out considerably
Great start to a recipe. Change spice to ras el hanout and roast lamb over chunked sweet potato and small peeled white potatoes, halved shallots, and sliced carrots. Scatter vegetables with dried apricots, prunes and olives. Add a little of the spice mixture to veg and toss with a bit of olive oil. Roast for less time.