Wonderful Leg of Lamb; Rome churches

Warning: there are more than the usual number of photos in this post.

Just thought you should know.

I’m not sure if ‘Wonderful Leg of Lamb’ is actually the name of this dish but it was the best I could do with the help of Google translate.

The recipe is in Icelandic.

It’s from an Icelandic magazine.

I don’t read Icelandic…. I’m not certain Google does either.

Friends of ours (she’s Icelandic; he’s Irish) made this for a dinner we were lucky enough to be invited to last spring and it was truly wonderful. Naturally, I asked for the recipe.

She kindly translated it for me but sent me the original, Icelandic version as well as the translation…. Which is where I looked for a name.

Since I have a freezer full of lamb I decided to make it for the family when they were all here after we came back from Morocco. I had to make a few minor changes since it was Sunday and no stores are open, but we were all very pleased with the results.

Needless to say – this is not a recipe for two…. But sometimes we cook for more.

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Wonderful Leg of Lamb

Print Recipe

This slow roasted lamb is incredibly moist and tender. The sauce has just a hint of sweetness from the prunes. Make it, put it in the oven and forget it for 6 hours….

• Author: Katie Zeller
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 6 hours
• Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: Lamb

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 leg of lamb, app 8 lb (3.5 kilo)
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• A few black pepper corns
• 10 prunes, pitted
• 8 cloves garlic
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup (8oz, 250ml) red wine
• 1 cup (8oz, 250ml) water
• 3 tbs cornstarch dissolved in 1/3 cup water

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Instructions

• Put carrots, celery, onion, and peppercorns in the bottom of a roasting pan
• Put the lamb on top of the vegetables in the roasting pan.
• Put prunes, garlic, salt, vinegar, and oil in a blender.
• Purée until smooth, adding a bit of red wine or water as needed.
• Spread mixture on top of lamb.
• Add the wine and water to the bottom with the vegetables.
• Cover and put in oven at 90C (195F) for 6-7 hours. 
• Remove leg and cover to let rest for 15 – 30 minutes.
• Strain the juices and bring to a boil in a sauce pan.
• Stir in as much of the cornstarch mixture as needed to make a smooth, thickened sauce.
• Carve the lamb and serve, sauce on the side.

Notes

The original recipe used dates and white wine.
I needed to add water to the blender to a smooth purée – add just a little at a time. You want it to be as thick as possible. 

First the prep photo so you have an idea of what the mixture looks like. Surprisingly, it stayed in place during the roasting.

Then, just for fun, here is my roasting pan in my oven:

I have one of the larger ovens available here. This was my turkey roaster when I lived in the US, It went in my oven the long way, with side dishes next to it and on shelves below it. I just barely managed to get the oven door closed here.

Back to Rome….. Did I mention there were a few churches?

This was not a ‘big’ church. We were just walking by (shopping), saw a door to a church, and, as I always do, I popped in to have a look.

It wasn’t particularly big but there were 2 side alters.

The ornate interiors really give one a feeling for the wealth and power of the church over the centuries.

The outsides of the churches can be somewhat austere.

But the interiors more than make up for it.

It;s hard to know where to look.