This is a bright, beautiful spring dish. Roasted baby vegetables are a perfect accompaniment, along with a full bodied red wine.
Ingredients
- 6 large cloves garlic, peeled
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
- 1 cup dried jamaica
- 4 cups water
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 bay laurel leaf
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 leg of lamb, 6-8 pounds
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Smash 3 of the garlic cloves with a wide knife. Place them, with the peppercorns, jamaicaand water, in a large pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add rosemary, bay leaf and sugar, and let the marinade steep for 30 minutes. It should be cool.
Place the lamb in a nonreactive container, pour the marinade over, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.
Preheat oven to 450°.
Remove the lamb from the marinade, reserving marinade. Thinly slice the remaining 3 cloves of garlic. Make cuts in the surface of the lamb and insert a slice of garlic into each cut. Rub the surface of the lamb with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Place the lamb, uncovered, in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 350°. Roast until a meat thermometer registers 125°, or longer if well done meat is desired. Cover the lamb with a foil tent and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
Strain the marinade into the roasting pan and boil until reduced to 1 ½ cups or thick enough to coat a wooden spoon. Serve this sauce with the lamb. Serves 6-8.
Mexican roselle hibiscus: Cooking with jamaica
