Butterflied Leg Of Lamb By Nigella Recipes

BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB BY NIGELLA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7. Get out a shallow but sturdy roasting tin and put the butterflied leg of lamb in it, skin-side down. Scatter with the snipped bay leaves and half the salt and pour the oil and vinegar over the lamb, then push the garlic slices into crevices where you can and lay the rest on top. Leave to marinate just until the lamb gets to room temperature. Turn the lamb over, so it is now skin-side up, sprinkle with the remaining salt flakes and roast in the hot oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, tent with foil, and let it stand for 15 minutes: this will give you lusciously pink lamb; if you want the meat slightly less pink, then let it stand, under its foil, for 30 minutes. I like to slice the meat and serve it in its piquant juices in the tin, but if you prefer - and for more formal occasions it does make sense - you can arrange the meat on a warmed serving platter and add a little boiling water - maybe an espresso cupful or so - to the juices in the tin before pouring them over the meat on the platter. A few more fresh bay leaves strewn over the meat will add to the aesthetic pleasure of the arrangement, too.

BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB - WITH ATTITUDE!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 (or prepare grill if you prefer). Lay out butterflied leg of lamb - fat side down - on a pan with a rack.
• Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl, and lightly coat both sides of the meat. Bake on center rack of oven for 50 minutes for rare, 1 hour for medium, or to your preference. Medium rare to medium for best taste.

HERBED AND BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• With a mortar and pestle, lightly crush peppercorns and coriander seeds. Transfer to a small bowl, and add olive oil, salt and garlic. Finely grate lemon peel, and add to mixture. Cut lemon into quarters, and squeeze juice into mixture, then add leftover lemon as well.
• Place lamb skin side down in a shallow dish, and press whole rosemary sprigs into scored meat. Pour marinade over meat, pressing lemon pieces into meat. Cover dish with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight.
• When ready to cook, remove lamb from refrigerator, and allow to sit at room temperature while oven heats to 425 degrees. Place lamb skin side up in a roasting pan, keeping lemon pieces and rosemary pressed into underside.
• Roast 35 to 40 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of lamb registers 145 degrees (for medium-well lamb), or adjust cooking time as desired. When cooked to taste, remove lamb from oven, and allow to rest in pan for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

BROILED AND SLOW-ROASTED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB WITH CUMIN AND GARLIC

Steps:

• 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.