Issue Date: April 4, 2004
A spring feast
Impress your holiday guests with the most flavorful lamb they'll ever eat.
For large gatherings like Passover and Easter, leg of lamb is the roast of choice. Arranged on a platter and garnished with fresh herbs, this spring classic makes a stunning centerpiece.
Despite its beauty, I have a few bones to pick with bone-in leg of lamb: It may look easy enough to carve, but hidden bones at odd angles are waiting to parry the knife of an unskilled carver. It's also difficult to season. You can massage it with a handful of herbs or a bold spice rub, but those flavorings are only surface deep. And as with most bone-in roasts, it's tricky to cook: Roasted to perfection on the surface often means underdone at the bone.
There is a solution, however. Buy a boned and butterflied leg of lamb, which is as easy to slice as a steak. And with its wide (and two-sided) surface area, seasoning is a breeze. Because a butterflied leg of lamb is more or less an even thickness, it's easier to cook. Sear it on both sides under the broiler, then slow-roast it during the social hour. Prepared this way, the lamb is crusty, flavorful and evenly cooked.
Make sure the butcher removes the "fell," a thin, rubbery membrane that covers the layer of fat on the lamb and acts like a girdle during cooking. If it's not removed, the butterflied leg tightens and bows during roasting. It's better also to remove most, but not all, of the surface fat. Lamb needs thin patches of fat for lubrication and flavor.
Pair your lamb roast with a delicious potato gratin and broiled asparagus. And end the meal with a simple meringue cake. The meringue layers literally bake as you sleep the night before. A few hours before serving, just smear on whipped cream (or non-dairy topping for Passover) and sprinkle with raspberries.
Who says making a feast has to take forever?
Contributing Editor Pam Anderson is the author of CookSmart (Houghton Mifflin, $28).
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Broiled & Slow-Roasted Butterflied Leg of Lamb With Cumin and Garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
8 garlic cloves, minced (2 1/2 to 3 Tbs.)
2 1/2 tsps. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. ground cumin
1 Tb. dried oregano
1 7 1/2- to 8-pound leg of lamb, boned and butterflied to a more or less even thickness, 4 3/4 to 5 1/2 pounds trimmed weight, fell and most fat removed
Juice of a lemon (optional)
Minced fresh parsley, cilantro or mint (optional)
Mix oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin and oregano; spread paste on both sides of the lamb and let stand for an hour until meat comes to room temperature.
Adjust oven rack to upper or upper-middle position (depending on lamb's thickness) and preheat broiler on high for at least 10 minutes.
Place lamb, cut side up, on a large wire rack set over a foil-lined roasting pan. Broil, moving pan so entire surface browns evenly, about 8 minutes. Turn lamb over; continue to broil until well browned on the other side, about 8 minutes longer. Turn off broiler, remove lamb from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Stick a meat thermometer into the thickest portion of the lamb; return it to the oven. Roast for a total of 50 minutes to 1 hour, until thermometer registers a rosy-pink 140 degrees. Check lamb several times after 30 minutes. If lamb gets done sooner, simply turn down oven to 170 degrees until ready to serve.
As soon as lamb comes out of the oven, squeeze on lemon juice and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Carve, slicing across the grain when possible. Arrange on a platter, drizzle with accumulated juices, and serve.
Serves: 12 to 14 (6 ounces per person).
Per serving: 378 calories, 33g protein, 1g carbohydrates, 25g fat (9g saturated), 0g fiber, 534mg sodium.
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Potato Gratin With Chicken Broth, Garlic and Thyme
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsps. dried thyme leaves
4 pounds starchy potatoes, such as russets, peeled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups canned or cartoned chicken broth
Adjust oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
With motor running, drop garlic through the feeder tube of a food processor to mince. Scrape down sides of bowl. With motor running, add oil through feeder tube; continue to process. Transfer to a small bowl, stir in thyme and set aside. Switch to the slicing blade and slice the potatoes (or thinly slice them with a knife).
Brush a little of the garlic oil over the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch (or similar size) baking dish. Make 4 layers in this order: potatoes, a generous brushing of the oil, a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Slowly add broth at one corner to avoid washing off garlic and herbs.
Bake until most of the broth has been absorbed, about 45 minutes. To brown, move pan to middle rack and broil until spotty brown, about 5 minutes.
Let rest so potatoes continue to absorb liquid, about 10 minutes. May be made ahead, held at room temperature while roast cooks, then reheated.
Serves: 10 to 12.
Per serving: 196 calories, 3g protein, 23g carbohydrates, 10g fat (1g saturated), 1g fiber, 279mg sodium.
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Meringue Cake With Whipped Cream and Raspberries
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 Tb. granulated sugar
1 Tb. cornstarch
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pint fresh raspberries
NOTE: You will need parchment paper for this recipe.
The night before serving, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.
Line a lipped cookie sheet (approximately 12 by 18 inches) with parchment paper. Trace two side-by-side rectangles -- about 5 inches by 12 or 13 inches -- on the paper. Crumple the paper, then smooth it out again and line the bottom of the pan.
Whisk together confectioner's sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and cornstarch. Set aside.
In the bowl of a mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until they turn from foamy to white and beaters just start to leave a trail. On low speed, add sugar mixture, a heaping tablespoon at a time. Increase speed to medium-high and beat to the consistency of marshmallow cream, 2 to 3 minutes longer.
Just before forming meringues, flick water onto parchment with fingertips. Divide meringue in half, spooning two or three mounds down each traced rectangle. Use a rubber spatula, or a cake decorator's metal offset spatula, to fill in and even out rectangles.
Set meringues in oven, close door and turn oven off (but leave oven light on). Let meringues dry overnight. Remove, then carefully set a wire rack or cookie sheet over meringues. Invert; peel off parchment and turn right side up. (It's OK if edges chip.) Wrap in foil and set aside until ready to proceed.
No more than two hours before serving, whip cream to soft peaks, beating in remaining sugar and the vanilla. Set one meringue on a platter. Spread with half the cream and sprinkle on half the berries. Repeat with remaining meringue, cream and berries. Refrigerate, uncovered, until ready to serve.
Serves: 10.
Per serving: 277 calories, 2g protein, 28g carbohydrates, 17g fat (11g saturated),1g fiber, 40mg sodium.
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What green vegetable to pair with this spring dinner?
Easy Broiled Asparagus
Asparagus is a natural, and it has the added benefit of being in season.
One of my favorite ways to serve this elegant vegetable is to either broil or grill the spears. This brief, super-hot cooking means no flavor is lost. Figure on one average bunch (about 1 pound) serving four people.
Toss the asparagus with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a lipped cookie sheet. Broil until tender but still bright green with a few spotty brown patches (test for doneness with a tip of a sharp knife). Arrange on a platter, and serve at room temperature with lemon wedges.
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