#176 I made a fancy yet simple Lamb dish for dinner: Roast Leg of Lamb with Rosemary

I can't count the many times I skipped buying a leg of lamb simply because, I always thought it's just too fancy, and thought it's so complicated to cook..until one day a couple of weeks ago, I decided to finally make a fancy leg of lamb dinner. Thanks to the internet, I learned that I can simply roast it in the oven and, surprisingly it's really easy to make! With the aid of my meat thermometer, I made sure it wasn't under or over cooked and I used fresh rosemary herbs. Wow, the marriage of the lamb and rosemary flavors is marvelous! Lamb meat already has that really strong flavor and all you really need to add are a few items to make into a delicious and fancy meal. Here's how  I made it with only a few ingredients: 

LEG OF LAMB ROAST WITH ROSEMARY

Ingredients: 

4 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped

3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

5 approximate pounds of leg of lamb

Salt and pepper 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Slit lamb meat with knife, maybe 4 cuts across so you can rub the crushed garlic and insert in slits for the flavor to deeply penetrate the meat.
3. Add salt and pepper.
4. Place rosemary on top of the seasoned meat.
5. Roast meat for about 1.5 to 2 hours, to your desired doneness. For medium rare, meat thermometer should read at least 135 degrees F. Do not overcook! Lamb tastes better when it is slightly pink on the inside.

Roasting meat has long been observed by the British since the 1400s, their  "Sunday Roast" consists of roast beef or other meat, vegetables, pudding and gravy, this tradition gives the families a chance to get together after a long week of hard work, and enjoy a hearty meal after church. This tradition of beef eating is still observed in the UK nowadays, I am not sure how many families do it religiously every Sunday. It is said that the original "beefeaters" were the members of the royal guard during the reign of King Henry the VII, his Yeomen Warders were served roast beef every Sunday after church and this practice gave birth to many beefeaters over the years. I am a modern day beefeater who eats meat like there is no tomorrow. Too much, really. I am trying to curb my beef and lamb consumption for health reasons, as eating in moderation is key to a healthy weight. This "Sunday Roast" is  great idea, infact, this is a good tradition for us to start, roasting meat every Sunday and eating more fish, chicken and vegetables for the rest of the week.  I guess we're having another delicious roast tomorrow night! :) Happy weekend, hope this one brings you another chance to spend quality time with your most favorite people in the world!

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#169 Stobhach Gaelach: Irish Stew

Some purists suggest that the authentic Irish stew or Stobhach Gaelach  should only have the following ingredients: neck mutton or kid, onions, potatoes and water. Recognized as early as the 1800's, there are many variations that are suggested nowadays. I chose to add carrots. I did not find mutton or goat in the grocery stores, and so I chose lamb--shoulder blade. I also used leeks and added fresh rosemary based on the recipe I adapted it from . I was worried that it won't turn out ok, but it did! 

STOBHACH GAELACH

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 lbs lamb shoulder blade
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, sliced
4 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 cups of water
5 large potatoes
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 cup thinly sliced leeks
parsley for garnishing

Directions:

1. Brown Lamb by batches, remove from pan once browned, set aside. (see pics below)
2. In the same pan, add onions and cook until translucent.
3. Add the browned lamb, salt, pepper and water. Cover and bring to boil.
4. Lower heat, and simmer meat for 1.5 hours or until tender.
5. Stir in potatoes and carrots, add water if needed, simmer for another 20 minutes.
6. Stir in leeks and rosemary, continue to simmer until potatoes are tender.
7. Serve hot and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
8. Enjoy!

Ahh, this was so good! I'm so happy that I learned how to cook this dish. I have always used beef for my stews, I rarely bought lamb because I really was not sure how to cook it. Back home in the Philippines, we did not have abundant supply of lamb meat, in fact I have never even tried it until I moved to California. This dish makes preparing lamb easy. It is also very delicious, and the meat was very  very soft!

The starch from the potatoes thickened the sauce, and so there is really no need to add wheat flour to this recipe. Season it according to your taste, I'm sure you will love how this dish will warm up your belly in this cold winter season...

If you enjoyed this post, follow this blog as we will be posting 196 more recipes this year! 196 recipes to discover, learn to cook, take pictures and post here to complete the goal of 365!  

Will I finish this big task? Check back often to see my progress! xo Van