Easy Provençal Lamb

I can't believe my last blog post was in the midst of summer! Here we are with shorter days and longer nights........smack dab in autumn. The outside grill has been taking some rest (although it still is used all year) and its time for comfort meals. Part of my lack of posting is due to getting a puppy........my new love. We got him (a Pug) when he was 4-months-old in the end of August. Its not as easy to maneuver around the kitchen with a puppy underfoot, but now that he's mellowed out at 7-months-old it is getting a bit more simple. By the way, his name is Bogart and we call him Bo.

This recipe is from Ina Garten's latest cookbook, How Easy Is That. I had to make some changes as rather than roasting a bone-in leg of lamb I had a boneless leg of lamb that weighed just under three pounds. The recipe suggests using 3 tablespoons of salt (way too much for us), I added just under one tablespoon total. The total cooking time was 20 minutes at 450 oven and about 45 minutes at 350 oven. After roasting at the higher temperature I added some peeled new potatoes. I did let the roast rest covered for about 15 minutes prior to slicing/serving. This was an easy dish to prepare and mindless once it went into the oven......no basting, just simple oven roasting and absolutely DELICIOUS!

Meet Bo:


INGREDIENTS
1 (6- to 7-pound) bone-in leg of lamb, trimmed and tied
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves), divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds ripe red tomatoes, cored and 1-inch-diced
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 cup good liquid honey, divided
1 large Spanish onion, sliced
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

DIRECTIONS
Place the leg of lamb in a large roasting pan fat side up and pat it dry with paper towels. Combine the mustard, 1 tablespoon of the garlic, the rosemary, balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a mini food processor and pulse until the garlic and rosemary are minced. Spread the mixture on the lamb.

Place the tomatoes, olive oil, 1/4 cup of the honey, the onion, the remaining 2 tablespoons garlic, 2 tablespoons salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper in a bowl and toss well. Pour the tomato mixture around the lamb and tuck in the thyme and rosemary sprigs. Drizzle the lamb with the remaining 1/4 cup of honey.





Roast for 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees and roast for another 1 to 1-1/4 hours, until a meat thermometer registers 130 to 135 degrees for medium-rare. Place the lamb on a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Discard the herb stems and return the tomatoes to the oven to keep warm. Slice the lamb, arrange on a platter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve with the tomatoes and pan juices spooned on top.




Serves 8.