Roasted Leg of Lamb (Fakhdet Kharouf bel Furun)

It is spring and it is Easter Season in the Holy Land! The best time for hikes and best time for cooking prime lamb! A yearling makes this dish both special and quite extravagant and what better time than an Easter Sunday luncheon. I cooked it for French cousins from Burgundy, great connoisseurs in food and wine; they were so delighted with the dish they had seconds and smothered the accompanying rice with the sauce.

Ingredients:

• A leg of lamb of about 2.5 kilos (between 5 and 6 lbs.)
• 4 garlic cloves
• A handful of rosemary leaves
• 2 tsps salt
• ¾ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp allspice
• A dash each: nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom
• ½ cup olive oil (80 ml)
• Preheat oven to 240°C (475°F.)

Put the leg of lamb, largely trimmed of its fat, into an ovenproof tray and put in the very hot oven to sear for half an hour, turning it over once. Meanwhile put the garlic, rosemary, salt, spices and olive oil into the food processor and mix at high speed for one minute. It is best to use fresh rosemary and to grind your spices last minute: you use less spices for optimum results.
When the meat is seared, baste it with the mixture on one side and put it back in the oven, which you lower to 220°C. (425°F.), repeat on the same side fifteen minutes later. After another fifteen minutes, turn the meat over and baste the other side twice at fifteen minutes intervals. Cover the meat with foil paper and let it cook for another hour. Transfer the meat to a serving dish and the sauce into a bowl and serve immediately with plain rice and steamed vegetables.