Pesach Roasted Lamb

As a kid, my Ashkenazi grandmother Gert would host most Passover Seders and serve either mildly seasoned chicken or brisket as the main course. When I started hosting my own Passover Seders in my late twenties, I wanted something with more flavor that honored my father’s Sephardic heritage. The Seder plate usually featured a lamb shank bone, but we never actually ate lamb, why not? I liked my grandma’s lamb chops as a kid, so I decided to make a lamb roast for the whole family. Over the years, I’ve experimented with various seasonings and variations, but the basic recipe is usually delicious especially if I cook it on a BBQ or pellet grill. The lamb is among the most popular leftover requests.
– Jon Varsano

• Ingredients

  • 1 (5 1/2- to 6-pound) rolled boned leg of lamb
  • 6 Springs of fresh rosemary
  • 8 cloves of garlic
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups of dry red wine
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Salt and pepper to taste

• Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400F
  2. Remove leaves from 3 springs of rosemary and add to a food processor.  Add garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil, then pulse until the mixture turns into a paste-like consistency.
  3. Make multiple incisions in the lamb meat and push the garlic-rosemary paste into slits.
  4. Rub the leg of the lamb with salt, pepper, and olive oil.
  5. Put the lamb in a roasting pan and cook for approximately 30 minutes to brown the exterior.
  6. Reduce heat to 325F and roast for another 2 hours or until the internal temperature is 145F for medium rare. Baste often with 1/2 cup water and 3/4 cup of wine mixture, plus lamb fat droppings on the bottom of the pan.
  7. Remove from oven then place on a cutting board and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
  8. Deglaze pan with remaining 3/4 of wine. Cook until sauce is desired thickness and pour in a serving bowl or gravy boat.
  9. Slice lamb and serve with sauce.

• Varsano Variations

  • Add whole garlic cloves into incisions in the lamb
  • Add garlic powder and onion powder to rub for the outside of the leg of lamb.
  • Reserve some garlic-rosemary paste. Add a little flour to pan dropping after the lamb is removed. Cook for 3 minutes while stirring often. Add remaining garlic-rosemary paste, then add wine, and cook until sauce is thick gravy.