Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, has long been one of mine and my mom’s favorite chefs. Her recipes are reliable, easy enough to follow, and always produce mouth-watering results. Looking to try something new in the kitchen, I bought a boneless leg of lamb from the butcher for the first time. When I got home, I knew I needed a good recipe to follow that would do justice to this beautiful piece of meat, and be simple enough that I couldn’t mess it up.

We used our Nutribullet Blender to make the crust mixture which worked just fine. I didn’t know what it meant to tie the lamb so I called my mom who told me it probably meant to use kitchen twine to tie up the loose-ish edges of the meat two or three times around to keep it all cooking evenly. I didn’t have fingerling or little red potatoes so I just cut up my Yukon gold potatoes into large quarters which made them about the right size. I checked the temperature of the lamb near the end of the hour and it was almost at 140ºF so I took it out then and let it get to room temperature for about 10-15 minutes before slicing it. The potatoes were soft and the meat was packed with herby flavor. It really was simple and it really did come out perfectly! We had leftovers obviously so this recipe would actually be great for a small dinner party.

Herb-Roasted Lamb

Recipe by: Ina Garten, “Barefoot Contessa,” Italian For Beginners, 2002

Total Time: 2 hr 20 min
Prep Time : 15 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 15 min
Yield:10 servings
Ingredients

• 12 large unpeeled garlic cloves, divided
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 (6-pound) boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and tied
• 4 to 5 pounds small unpeeled potatoes (16 to 20 potatoes)
• 2 Tbsp. good olive oil

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven so the lamb will sit in the middle of the oven. Peel 6 of the cloves of garlic and place them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and butter. Process until the garlic and rosemary are finely minced.

2. Thoroughly coat the top and sides of the lamb with the rosemary mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

3. Toss the potatoes and remaining unpeeled garlic in a bowl with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the lamb on top of the potatoes and roast for 1 hour, or until the internal temperature of the lamb is 135ºF (rare) or 145ºF (medium). Remove from the oven and put the lamb on a platter; cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow the lamb to rest for about 15 minutes. Slice and serve with the potatoes.