Italian Leg of Lamb with Veggies

image from Cuisine at Home

I may never prepare Lamb another way than I did last week. The recipe came from last Spring's issue of Cuisine at Home. I love this magazine because it provides recipes for a main course and suggests corresponding side items with their recipes. Most of their recipes are quick to prepare: often under 30 minutes. This one took about 2 hours but was well worth it!

I was excited about the baby artichokes in this recipe, which I was unable to find fresh or frozen. However, I included them in the recipe I provided below in case you can have better luck finding them than I did!

I LOVE sauces and condiments but can't seem to appreciate mint jelly as an adequate lamb companion. So when I saw that there was a special sauce to prepare and serve with this dish I was ecstatic. We had family guests join us for this meal. My husband's grandfather (who is loyal to the mint jelly to an extent I can't begin to describe) tested the sauce after the others encouraged him to and approved! I will admit, the sauce was pretty dang good!

For the Lamb and Veggies:
12 cloves garlic
½ cup fresh rosemary
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp anchovy paste
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp minced lemon zest
1 ½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 boneless leg of lamb (4-5 lb)
8 fresh baby artichokes
1 ½ lb baby red potatoes, halved
½ lb shallots
2 lemons, quartered

For the Sauce:
1 onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
¾ cup dry red wine
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp all purpose flour (I used Pamela's pancake mix)
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 tsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

To prepare the sauce:
Saute onion, celery, carrot and 2 tbsp oil in the saucepan over medium-high heat until browned, 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cook 1 minute. Deglaze pan with dry red wine; reduce until liquid is nearly evaporated.
Whisk in butter and flour (or flour substitute) until butter is melted. Add broth and whisk until smooth, scraping up bits on bottom of pan. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until thickened, 2 minutes. Stir in vinegar, season with salt and pepper. Place in blender and puree to form sauce.
May be made in advance and reheated upon serving.

For the lamb and veggies:

Preheat oven to 425.
Process 12 garlic cloves, rosemary, ½ cup oil, lemon juice, anchovy paste, salt, zest, black pepper, and paper flakes in food processor until paste-like. Set ½ mixture aside for veggies.

Remove outer netting around leg, unroll, and trim excess fat. Rinse lamb, pat dry with paper towels. Cut 3 pieces of butcher string into 1-2 feet lengths. Place lamb flat on a cutting board and coat the inside of the leg with half of remaining paste. Roll leg up jelly roll-style and tie with string at 3 inch intervals, trimming excess string. Spread remaining paste over outside of lamb. Place in roasting pan on stove and brown on each side.

Remove outer petals of artichokes until you reach the yellow-green core. Cut off top inch, trim the stems, then slice in half. Toss artichokes, potatoes, shallots and lemons with reserved 1/3 cup paste.

Arrange veggies around lamb and roast for 20 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 135 degrees for medium. Transfer lamb to cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and rest 15-20 minutes. Remove string and carve into 1 inch thick slices. Transfer meat and veggies to a serving platter and serve with sauce.