Roast leg of lamb and potatoes
Roast leg of lamb, studded with garlic is an easy Easter recipe. Potatoes are roasted alongside the lamb for a great start on your holiday meal.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 7 to 8-pound leg of lamb
- 1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 T whole-grain mustard
- 4 t kosher salt
- 2 t fresh ground pepper
- 3 T fresh rosemary, chopped
- 3 T thyme, chopped
- 4–5 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed
- Olive oil, as needed
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Remove lamb from fridge about an hour before you cook it. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Using a paring knife, poke 1″ deep holes all over the roast, about 2″ apart from each other. Slice any large garlic cloves into smaller pieces, slicing from end-to-end. Insert garlic pieces into each of the holes in the roast.
- Whisk together the mustard and olive oil in a small bowl. In another small bowl, combine salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Using your hands, smear the olive oil and mustard mixture all over the lamb. Pat the salt, pepper and herb rub into the mustard and oil coating to create a thick crust.
- Place the roast on a middle rack in the oven and roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
- While the roast is in the oven, quarter the skin-on potatoes lengthwise. Slice each quartered potatoes lengthwise into 3 or 4 large fries. You will get 9-12 fries from each large potato.
- After the roast has been in the oven 30 minutes, turn down the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Remove the roast from the oven and surround the roast with a single layer of potato fries, about one third of the fries. Do not over crowd. Put remaining potatoes on a separate baking sheet. Baste the potatoes with lamb juice. Supplement with some additional olive oil if needed. Liberally season potatoes with salt and pepper and return the roast and the potatoes to the oven.
- Continue roasting the lamb and potatoes for another 45-60 minutes, until the internal roast temperature is 135 degrees when thermometer is stuck into meatiest part of roast. Do not allow thermometer to touch the bone when taking a reading. Remove the roast and the potatoes from the oven and allow the roast to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before carving. The roast will continue to cook while it rests. Slice and serve.