Roasted Lamb with Lemon, Garlic and Rosemary Potatoes

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We are going to have a classic Easter dinner with friends next Saturday. I love these folks, but they've been at my table so often that I feel compelled to try something new, or at the very least, rework something old and give it a new life. I did some searching this week and was able to find a recipe for lamb that sounded really interesting. It was a Martha Stewart recipe, so I was reasonably confident that the recipe would work, but it was strongly flavored and I wanted to make sure it played nicely with the other dishes I planned to serve with dinner. Tonight we had a dress rehearsal. It work well enough that I'm happy to share the recipe with those of you who enjoy food with robust and gutsy flavors. I did vary a bit from the recipe.  I used very small potatoes that did not lend themselves to peeling or fussing of any sort, so they went into the roasting pan with their skins intact.  My omission caused no problems with the finished dish. There was one problem that I had to address when the roast came out of the oven. It did not brown and I found the color it did have off-putting. I added a teaspoon or so of Kitchen Bouquet to the scant pan drippings and used them to paint the surface of the meat. Voila! Only you and I know where that meat got its lovely brown color. Having completed had the test run, I'm going to change the vegetables I originally planned to serve with the lamb. The potatoes are so strongly flavored that I'm reverting to plain steamed asparagus or green bean bundles  as an accompaniment. I think they will provide better balance to the meal. I really liked this dish and I think you will too. Here's the recipe.

Roasted Marinated Lamb with Lemon, Garlic and Rosemary Potatoes...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
Wide strips of zest and fresh juice from 2 lemons
1 head garlic, cloves smashed and peeled
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 pounds boneless leg of lamb roast, tied at 1-inch intervals
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 pounds small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled

Directions:
1) Roughly chop strips of lemon zest. In a medium bowl, combine lemon zest and juice, garlic, and rosemary; whisk in oil. Pat lamb dry and season with salt and pepper. Place lamb in a 1-gallon resealable bag and pour in marinade. Seal bag, pressing to remove as much air as possible. Turn bag several times to coat lamb in marinade. Let sit at room temperature 1 hour (or refrigerate overnight), flipping bag halfway through.
2) Preheat oven to 450. (If lamb was marinated overnight, remove from refrigerator 1 hour prior to cooking.) Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by 2 inches; season with salt. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes.
3) Remove lamb from marinade, letting excess marinade drip back into bag. Place lamb on a plate; season generously with salt and pepper. Pour marinade into a roasting pan; add potatoes. Cook 15 minutes. Push potatoes to edges of pan; place lamb in center. Roast 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 300 and cook until medium-rare (an instant-read thermometer should read 125 when inserted in thickest part of lamb), 1 to 1 1/4 hours, tossing potatoes halfway through.
4) Tent pan loosely with foil and let lamb rest 20 minutes before slicing. Toss potatoes with pan juices and serve alongside lamb. Yield: 8 servings.






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