Moroccan Leg of Lamb With Mint Dressing

Name: Moroccan Leg of Lamb With Mint Dressing
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Cuisine: moroccan
Ingredients: 1 9-to-11-pound bone-in leg of lamb, trimmed of fat and membrane; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1/3 cup fruity-tasting olive oil; 1/3 cup lemon juice; 1 tablespoon lemon zest; 2 tablespoons minced garlic; 1 tablespoon harissa (Moroccan chili paste), more for serving; 1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds, toasted and crushed; 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; Mint dressing

By Matt Lee and Ted Lee

Updated June 6, 2024

Moroccan Leg of Lamb With Mint Dressing — Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Total Time: 2 hours
Rating: 4(404)
Comments: Read comments

When a large crowd is coming over, it’s easy for panic to set in, as the Lee brothers discussed in the 2006 article accompanying this recipe. Their solution? Cooking a big cut of meat. For their first attempt, they looked to lamb, specifically this Moroccan lamb, coated with harissa, lemon zest and juice (which they used as a substitute for preserved lemons), and cured before roasting. The end result, served with a mint dressing, and perhaps a side of couscous or even mashed potatoes, is a satisfying show-stopper.

Featured in: Got A Crowd Coming Over? Think Big Cuts Of Meat

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 10 servings

19-to-11-pound bone-in leg of lamb, trimmed of fat and membrane
1teaspoon kosher salt
1teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅓cup fruity-tasting olive oil
⅓cup lemon juice
1tablespoon lemon zest
2tablespoons minced garlic
1tablespoon harissa (Moroccan chili paste), more for serving
1teaspoon whole coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
½teaspoon ground cumin
Mint dressing

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Score meaty side of lamb in a diamond pattern of ¼-inch-deep cuts about 1½ inches apart. Season with salt and pepper, and place scored-side up in a large roasting pan.
Step 2
In a small bowl, whisk olive oil with lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, harissa, coriander seeds and cumin. Pour marinade over lamb and massage into crevices. Cover pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate 2½ hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 1½ hours before cooking to return lamb to room temperature; in last 15 minutes, heat oven to 450 degrees.
Step 3
Remove foil from pan and place pan on middle oven rack; turn heat down to 350 degrees. Roast, basting lamb with pan juices every ½ hour, until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat reads 130 degrees, about 1¾ hours total. Remove from oven, tent loosely with foil, and let rest 15 minutes before carving. Serve with harissa and mint dressing.

Ratings

4 out of 5

404 user ratings

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Comments

Chris7 years ago

Not bad. But next time try it with lamb - something where a leg weighs less than 2kg (4.5lb). (A leg weighing in at 9-11 lbs is an adult, almost mutton but definitely hogget, a 2-tooth.

Jacqueline7 years ago

Excellent flavor but if you like your lamb less than well done beware length of cooking!

Steven7 years ago

Have to say: Nothing against this recipe, but to my mind you cannot improve upon Julia Child's recipe for a leg of lamb with a garlic mustard coating (includes ginger, thyme, olive oil). Slather the joint with the coating several hours before sticking it in a 350 oven for ninety minutes, Oven roasted potatoes. Green beans. Man.

PGC4 weeks ago

I wonder if this would work with ham - my family won’t eat lamb, but the prep/marinade looks so good..

davehk - SFO3 years ago

I cooked a 4lb roast. It took about an hour to get to well done. Oops. Not a surprise, in hindsight, since a smaller roast will have a better surface volume to mass ratio and so it’ll take proportionately less. It turns out that science works at home as well. The Mint sauce was a hit; although I thought it could use a teensy bit more salt. I took the advice of one of the other contributors and made the sauce ahead of time. As predicted, it mellowed out considerably

Thomas3 years ago

Great start to a recipe. Change spice to ras el hanout and roast lamb over chunked sweet potato and small peeled white potatoes, halved shallots, and sliced carrots. Scatter vegetables with dried apricots, prunes and olives. Add a little of the spice mixture to veg and toss with a bit of olive oil. Roast for less time.

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