Leg Of Lamb With Chorizo Stuffing Romesco Potatoes And Black Olives Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine garlic, thyme, and 2 tablespoons salt in a small bowl. Using your fingertips, rub mixture until it resembles wet sand (larger pieces of garlic will remain); set aside. Crush bay leaves.
• Combine half of potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and 1 crushed bay leaf in a large roasting pan; season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Spread out potatoes in a single layer.
• Place lamb on top of potatoes and rub with garlic mixture. Layer tomatoes, onions, remaining 3 crushed bay leaves, and remaining potatoes around and up sides of lamb, seasoning with salt and pepper and drizzling with remaining 6 tablespoons oil as you go (lamb will be nearly covered). Add wine to pan; cover tightly with foil.
• Roast until lamb is very tender, 3-4 hours. Remove foil and increase oven temperature to 425°F. Roast, turning lamb halfway through, until lamb is golden, 20-25 minutes longer. Let rest in roasting pan for 15-20 minutes. DO AHEAD: Lamb can be roasted 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Reheat before continuing.
• Pull meat from bones in large chunks; discard bones and fat. Place meat and vegetables on a platter. Skim fat from surface of cooking juices in pan. Spoon some cooking juices over lamb and vegetables and serve remainder alongside.

Steps:

• Place the lamb in a baking dish and coat it well on all sides with the smashed garlic, rosemary, chopped parsley, and cracked black pepper. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
• Take the lamb out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before stuffing it, to bring it to room temperature. Reserve the marinade.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Season the lamb on both sides with salt and a little freshly ground black pepper. Lay the meat on a cutting board, fat side down, and open like a book. Spoon as much of the chorizo stuffing as you can (about half, or a little more) on the right side of the lamb. Fold the left side over the stuffing, as if you're closing the "book." If some of the stuffing falls out, stuff what you can back in. Tie the lamb with butcher string at 2-inch intervals to hold it together while roasting. Carefully place the lamb on a roasting rack set in a roasting pan. Drizzle the leftover marinade over the lamb. Put the remaining chorizo stuffing into a small baking dish and set aside.
• Roast the lamb about 1 1/4 hours, until a meat thermometer inserted into the center (of the meat, not the stuffing) reads 120°F. Remove the lamb from the oven, and let it rest 15 minutes before slicing.
• While the lamb is resting, heat the extra stuffing in the oven until it's hot, about 10 minutes.
• Toss the olives, parsley leaves, and mint leaves with a drizzle of the supergood olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Taste for seasoning. (The herb salad might not need salt, because the olives are rather salty.) Arrange the hot romesco potatoes on a large warm platter.
• Slice the lamb into 1/4-inch-thick slices, removing the butcher string as you go. Using a spatula and spoon (so you don't lose too much of the stuffing), arrange the meat over the potatoes. Scatter the herb salad over the top, and serve the extra stuffing and romesco on the side.
• Chorizo Stuffing
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Toss the breadcrumbs with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Spread them on a baking sheet and toast 6 to 8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they are golden brown.
• Heat a medium pot over high heat for 1 minute. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil, the rosemary sprig, and the chile; let them sizzle in the oil about 1 minute. Stir in the onions, garlic, and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to medium and cook about 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and discard the rosemary and chile.
• While the onions are cooking, heat a medium sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Crumble the chorizo into the pan, and sauté about 8 minutes, until the sausage is crisp and cooked through. Drain the chorizo of excess oil and add it to the bowl with the onions. Stir in the breadcrumbs, mint, and parsley, and combine well. Taste for seasoning.
• Romesco Potatoes
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Place the potatoes in a roasting pan and toss well with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the garlic, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and a heaping teaspoon salt. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast the potatoes about 50 minutes, until tender when pierced (the time will really depend on size, age, and variety of potatoes). When the potatoes have cooled, reserve the garlic, discard the bay and thyme, and crumble the potatoes into chunky pieces with your hands. Squeeze the garlic out of its skin and set aside.
• Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. (To get the potatoes nicely browned and crisp, don't overcrowd them. You may have to use two pans or brown them in batches.) Pour in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, turn the heat to medium-high, and wait 1 minute more. Add the crumbled potatoes, and season with the thyme leaves, salt, and pepper. Sauté the potatoes 6 to 8 minutes until they are crispy on one side. (Don't try to move them or turn them if they are stuck to the pan; they will eventually release themselves-just be patient.) After they've browned nicely on the first side, turn them to let them color on all sides. Once they're nicely browned on all sides, spoon the romesco and reserved garlic into the hot potatoes. Toss and stir to coat them well. Taste for seasoning. Toss in the parsley. Or, if you're not ready to serve the dish yet, turn off the heat and leave the potatoes in the pan; then, just before serving, reheat for a few minutes and toss in the parsley at the last moment.
• Romesco
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Remove and discard the stems and seeds from the chiles, and then soak them in warm water for 15 minutes to soften. Strain the chiles, and pat dry with paper towels.
• Meanwhile, spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, until they smell nutty and are golden brown.
• Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and wait a minute. Fry the slice of bread on both sides until golden brown. Remove the bread from the pan and cool. Cut it into 1-inch cubes and set aside.
• Return the pan to the stove over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and the chiles and sauté for a minute or two. Add the tomatoes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often, until the tomato juices have evaporated and the tomato starts to color slightly. Turn off the heat, and leave the mixture in the pan.
• In a food processor, pulse together the toasted nuts, garlic, and fried bread until the bread and nuts are coarsely ground. Add the chile-tomato mixture, and process for 1 minute more.
• With the machine running, slowly pour in the remaining 1 cup olive oil and process until you have a smooth purée. Don't worry, the romesco will "break" or separate into solids and oil; this is normal. Add the parsley, and season to taste with lemon juice, sherry vinegar, and more salt if you like.
• Note
• This is one of the most involved recipes in the book, so plan ahead and set yourself up. Both the chorizo stuffing and the romesco can be made up to 2 days ahead. You can roast the potatoes in the morning, waiting to crumble and brown them until just before serving. And if you like, stuff the lamb the morning of your supper. But remember to take it out of the refrigerator 45 minutes before roasting to bring it to room temperature. Start the romesco potatoes after the lamb has been in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cut slits in the top of the leg of lamb every 3 to 4 inches, deep enough to push slices of garlic down into the meat. Salt and pepper generously all over the top of lamb, place several sprigs of fresh rosemary under and on top of the lamb. Place lamb on roasting pan.
• Roast in preheated oven until the lamb is cooked to your desired doneness, about 1 3/4 to 2 hours. Do not overcook the lamb, the flavor is best if meat is still slightly pink. Let rest at least 10 minutes before carving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• With a vegetable peeler remove zest from lemon and reserve lemon. Pit olives. In a food processor finely chop zest, olives, garlic, and parsley with 2 tablespoons oil.
• Peel potatoes and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. In a large flameproof roasting pan toss potatoes with remaining 2 tablespoons oil to coat and season with salt and pepper. Arrange lamb on potatoes and with the tip of a sharp small knife cut small slits all over lamb. Rub olive mixture over lamb, pushing it into slits. Halve reserved lemon and squeeze juice over lamb. Season lamb with salt and pepper and roast with potatoes in middle of oven 20 minutes.
• Reduce temperature to 350°F.
• Roast lamb and potatoes, loosening potatoes from pan with a metal spatula and turning them occasionally, 1 hour more, or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 135°F. Transfer lamb to a cutting board and let stand while making gravy. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl and keep warm.
• Make gravy:
• In a cup with your fingers blend together flour and butter. Add wine and water to roasting pan and deglaze pan over moderately high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits. Transfer mixture to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk in flour mixture, whisking until incorporated, and simmer gravy, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. With a slotted spoon remove any potato pieces from gravy.
• Garnish lamb with lemon halves and olive branches and serve with gravy and potatoes.

Steps:

• Remove plastic netting or twine from around the leg of lamb, if any, and open up the roast on a cutting board. Place the boned side of the roast up. With a sharp paring knife, cut away any excess fatty areas. Use a sharp knife to cut 1/2-inch deep slits in the meat about 2 inches apart, to help the meat lie flat. Cover the meat with a sturdy piece of plastic wrap or a cut-apart food storage bag, and pound the meat with a mallet or the edge of a small plate until the roast is about 3/4 inch thick everywhere, and 10 to 14 inches square.
• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Sprinkle the upper side of the meat with salt and pepper, and then spread spinach leaves over the top of the roast to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Break up the goat cheese and sprinkle it evenly over the spinach, then sprinkle the pine nuts over the cheese.
• Roll the roast up into a tight cylinder, and tie the roast together with kitchen twine at 2 inch intervals. It's okay if a little stuffing protrudes from the sides of the roast.
• In a flat dish, mix together the flour, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of pepper, the thyme, and the fennel seeds, and press the tied roast firmly into the flour mixture to coat all sides.
• Heat the sesame oil in a heavy oven-proof or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers, and sear all sides of the roast, including the ends, to a golden brown color. Lay the roast into the skillet, place into the preheated oven, and roast to your desired degree of doneness, or an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (65 degrees C) for medium, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.