Roast Leg Of Lamb for Greek Easter

Happy Easter - Greek Style with this delicious Roast Leg of Lamb! This was my ex-mother-in-law's recipe. You can read about her on my website. She was scary, but a fabulous cook! Happy Easter!

The first time I met my ex- mother-in-law, it was at her house for Easter dinner. She had cooked us all a fabulous  Greek feast. The smells in the house were absolutely delicious! On the dining table there was a beautiful roasted leg of lamb with potatoes cooked in the lamb juices, a Greek salad, a huge loaf of fresh, crusty rustic bread, and on a platter was a big hunk of feta cheese surrounded by kalamata olives.

As my husband, his six brothers, Papa’ and myself sat down to eat her glorious meal, Mama’ proceeded to sit by herself in a chair in the corner of the dining room. I turned to my husband and whispered, “Why is Mama’ sitting in that chair and not eating with us at the table?” He replied nonchalantly, “Oh, she always does that. During the war, in Greece, there was never enough food. So, she’d always be sure the family was fed first and if there was anything left over, she’d eat.” Then, he and his six brothers and Papa’ chowed-down on her fabulous feast, while she sat by herself in the chair in the corner. That was the introduction to my new, scary Greek mother-in-law.

Roast Leg Of Lamb for Greek Easter

Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: Greek

PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

2 hours

TOTAL TIME

2 hours 15 mins

INGREDIENTS

One 5-pound leg of lamb

8 cloves fresh garlic

Juice from 1 fresh lemon

1 ½ cups water

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper-

Garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350ᵒ.

2. Place your leg of lamb on a rack placed inside your baking pan. (the pan should be deep enough to hold the water and juices)

3. Using a sharp knife, cut 8 little slits all over the lamb and place the fresh garlic cloves in each slit.

4. Sprinkle the entire lamb with the Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic powder.

5. Add the 1 ½ cups of water into the bottom of the roasting pan beneath the lamb.

6. Pour ½ of the lemon juice over the lamb. (It’s OK if it drips down into the water below- see the note at bottom about potatoes and using the remaining lemon)

7. Bake the lamb uncovered in the 350ᵒ oven for 1 ½ hours. Check the lamb at that time to be sure it’s not getting too browned. You can always cover the lamb leg with a little aluminum foil tent. If the juices have cooked down you may add ½ cup more of water to the pan.

8. Let the leg of lamb cook for another 30 minutes, then remove from the oven onto a cutting board or platter and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

NOTES

For some delicious potatoes, peel and quarter 3 baking potatoes (you can also cut into 8ths if you like them smaller) and remove the rack from the pan containing the juices that you cooked the lamb in. If you need to add a little more water to the juices in the pan, do so, along with the remaining lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to scrape up the bits from the pan. Then, place the potatoes in the pan with the juices. Salt, pepper and garlic powder the potatoes. Bake in the same 350ᵒ oven for about 30 minutes until the juices cook down and the potatoes are done.YUM!)

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