Leg of Lamb Recipe with Mint Pesto

Leg of Lamb: Recipe Coming Soon

This Leg of Lamb Recipe is Perfect with:

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup walnuts or pine nuts
  • 6 large garlic cloves
  • 2 cups fresh mint leaves
  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
  • 1 leg of lamb, bone-in, or boneless, rolled and tied
  • 2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered or halved
  • 12 ounces baby carrots, trimmed, peeled

Directions

Finely chop nuts and garlic in processor. Add mint leaves and basil and chop finely. Add oil and vinegar and blend until pesto is smooth. Trim any excess fat from leg of lamb, leaving thin layer. Set leg of lamb in large roasting pan. Make several slits in leg of lamb with tip of small sharp knife. Reserve 1/2 cup pesto for vegetables. Spoon some pesto into each slit; rub remainder into leg of lamb. Sprinkle leg of lamb generously with salt and pepper. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature or cover and chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Roast leg of lamb 45 minutes. Add potatoes to pan and turn to coat in pan juices. Roast 30 minutes. Add carrots and reserved 1/2 cup pesto and turn to coat carrots and potatoes in pesto and pan juices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue roasting until thermometer inserted into thickest part of leg of lamb registers 140°F. for medium-rare, about 45 minutes longer. (Note: The cooking time will vary depending on whether the leg of lamb bone is in or not, so keep checking with cooking thermometer!) Remove leg of lamb from oven and let stand 15 minutes.

Carve leg of lamb into thin slices. Arrange leg of lamb on plates with potatoes and carrots. Garnish leg of lamb with fresh mint leaves. This leg of lamb recipe serves 6-8.