2011 was a big year for both Ayoe and I, we moved in together, I proposed to her (she said yes, phew!), and we got married. We both believe 2012 will be even better for us and we’re looking forward to all the opportunities ahead. We’re slowly planning our honeymoon trip to Italy next summer. We’re very excited about staying in the Tuscany region and learning about the Tuscan way of cooking! Another item we’re very excited about is that we are very close to completing the 10 Irresistible Desserts E-book. As you can tell from the title, the book will contain 10 mouth-watering dessert recipes. I’ve personally tried all of the desserts and I can’t get enough of them. I need to be careful not to eat too much or else I’ll gain too much weight, haha!
For new year’s dinner Ayoe made a roast leg of lamb. It was a success and everyone loved it! Here’s the recipe if you want to give it a try.
INGREDIENTS
2.5 kg (~6 lb) leg of lamb, bone-in or boneless. Tie up the lamb with kitchen string.
Fresh Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
3 to 4 Garlic cloves
Onion
1. Preheat oven to 230 °C/450 °F
2. Pat lamb dry with paper towels.
3. Slice garlic into medium size pieces, make small slits in the lamb, and stuff the garlic into the slits.
4. Weave rosemary underneath the string, all the way around the lamb.
5. Rub the lamb with salt, pepper, and olive oil.
7. Cut onion and place them in the roast pan. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper in the pan. Place lamb on top.
8. Place lamb in the oven for 20 min. Then reduce the heat to 160 °C/325 °F for additional cooking time. It takes about 25-30 min per 1/2 kg (per pound) if you want your roast medium cooked. You will need to roast longer if you have a bone-in leg of lamb.
9. Make sure you don’t open the oven door too often since this reduces the oven temperature. With a meat thermometer check that the lamb is 54 – 57 °C (130 – 135 °F) in the center of the roast and do not touch the bone when measuring the temperature. This will give you a medium rare roast. Once the lamb reaches the desired temperature, remove it from the oven and let it rest for 15-20 min before carving.
10. While waiting, filter the drippings in the roasting pan into a pot. Heat up the drippings and add some red wine. Bring the sauce to boil to burn off the alcohol. Add pepper to taste. Always taste the sauce before adding additional ingredients.
11. Carve the roast and enjoy!
What are you excited about for 2012?
-Bob