Recipe: Leg of lamb with root vegetables

Spring Lamb and root veggies

A 6-8-pound semi-boneless leg of lamb

4-6 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of butter

Rosemary sprigs for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Chop garlic into “slivers”

Score the lamb with a sharp knife and insert the garlic.

In a skillet, melt the butter (or substitute olive oil) and stir in the chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Heat on low for 5-10 minutes, let the mixture cool a bit and then rub all over the lamb.

Let stand for about 30 minutes.

Roast lamb in middle of oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted 2 inches into thickest part of meat (do not touch bone) registers 130°F, 1½ to 1¾ hours. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 15 to 25 minutes (internal temperature will rise to about 140°F for medium-rare).

Veggies

• 1pound yams (orange sweet potatoes) – 2 small or one large, peeled
• 3/4pound red potatoes scrubbed clean, peel on
• 1/2pound beets (red or golden), trimmed and scrubbed clean
• 1/2pound large carrots peeled and halved lengthwise
• 1parsnip medium sized (4-5 oz), peeled and halved lengthwise
• 1/2red onion peeled
• 6whole garlic cloves large sized
• 1/4cup extra virgin olive oil divided
• 2tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 2 tsp dried thyme)
• 5sprigs fresh rosemary (or 3 tsp dried rosemary)
• 1teaspoon ground cumin (can be omitted for Ashkenazi Passover)
• 1 teaspoonkosher salt or more to taste
• 1/4teaspoon black pepper or more to taste
• Place a rack in the bottom of your oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice all vegetables into chunks roughly 1 1/2 inches wide. The more similar the size of the vegetable pieces, the more evenly they will roast.
• Place cut vegetables and garlic cloves into a large mixing bowl. Add 3 tbsp olive oil, fresh thyme leaves, ground cumin, kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir until all vegetables are evenly coated with oil, spice and herbs.
• Brush large, rimmed baking sheet with remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Spread the vegetables out evenly on the baking sheet. Place the rosemary sprigs on top of the vegetables, evenly spaces across the sheet.
• Roast the vegetables in the oven for 15 minutes. Stir the vegetables, bringing the chunks from the outside towards the center and the chunks in the center out towards the edges. Return baking sheet to oven and continue to roast until the largest chunks are tender and the edges are starting to turn golden/dark, another 15-25 minutes.