Spanish Roasted Lamb Recipes

SPANISH ROAST LAMB (CORDERO ASADO OR LECHAZO)

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat the lard or vegetable shortening until it melts. If you prefer, use a small bowl and heat in a microwave oven.
• Heat oven to 400 F.
• Trim excess fat off the lamb and discard.
• Place lamb in ​the roasting pan or another oven-proof dish. (Traditionally, the Spanish use large, open clay dishes.) Rub the lamb with salt and baste with the melted lard.
• Place in oven to roast. Occasionally baste with lard and turn until lamb is golden brown on the outside and meat is tender.
• Roast potatoes are a great accompaniment to this dish. To roast potatoes, peel 8-10 small potatoes and cut in half. Place in the roasting pan around the lamb. Baste with lard when you baste the lamb. The amount of time that the lamb spends in the oven will depend on how thick the piece(s) of meat are. A good rule of thumb for a bone-in leg of lamb at 400 F is to allow about 30 minutes roasting time per pound of lamb.

ROASTED YOUNG SPRING LEG OF LAMB SPANISH STYLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Clean lamb of any excess fat around the thick and meaty portion of the leg. In a bowl, combine salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, parsley, thyme, oregano and oil. Rub the lamb thoroughly with salt mixture. Place cut vegetables in a large turkey roaster. Rest the lamb on top of vegetables. Place the leg of lamb in the oven and roast until internal temperature, at thickest portion of lamb, registers 135 degrees on a meat thermometer, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Remove lamb from oven and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Discard vegetables. Serve with White Beans and Saffron recipe (recipe follows).
• Drain soaked beans. Place in a large pot with fresh water, bring to a boil, and reduce heat. Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours with bay leaves. Add 1 teaspoon salt after simmering for 1 hour. In a saute pan over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add parsley and saffron, allow to cook for 1 minute more, and remove from heat. Drain the cooked beans of excess water. Return the beans to the pot and add cooked onion mixture. Combine and reheat. Check seasoning and serve.

SPANISH LAMB WITH SHERRY, HONEY & PEPPERS

Steps:

• Make sure your lamb isn't too damp - pat it dry with kitchen paper if you need to, otherwise it won't colour well. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large casserole dish and brown the lamb over a high heat in batches (if you crowd the pan the meat will sweat and not brown). Remove with a slotted spoon as you go. When all the lamb is browned, add the remaining oil and cook the onion and peppers over a medium heat until the onion is golden and the vegetables are softened. Add the garlic and paprika, and cook for a further 1 min, then add the sherry and bring to a simmer.
• Put all the lamb back in the pan, along with the stock, saffron, sherry vinegar and honey. Season and bring to just under the boil. Turn the heat down, cover the pan and leave to cook very gently for 2 hrs, turning the meat every so often.
• In the last half hour of cooking time, remove the lid so that the sherry and stock can reduce. You want to end up with completely tender meat in a flavoursome gravy - how long this takes will depend on how wide your pan is so you may need to give it longer than 30 mins. Check the seasoning. You're unlikely to need to adjust the vinegar or honey but you might want to sweeten the dish slightly. Scatter the parsley or almonds on top (or use both). Serve with the couscous.

SPANISH-STYLE SLOW-COOKED LAMB SHOULDER & BEANS

Steps:

• To make the spice mix, combine all of the ingredients together with a large pinch of salt. Slash the lamb shoulder all over with a sharp knife and rub in. If you have the time, marinate for up to 24 hrs, but this is not essential.
• Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or roasting tin over a medium-high heat, add the onions, carrots and garlic and sizzle for 5 mins until the onions and carrots are softened. Pour over the stock, then bring to the boil. Nestle the lamb in the pan and cover, then transfer to the oven and roast for 2 hrs.
• Uncover and transfer the lamb to a plate using tongs. Stir the beans, peppers and olives through the stock in the pan, sit the lamb back on top and return to the oven, uncovered, for 1 hr 30 mins until the lamb is cooked through. Transfer the lamb to a board and shred using two forks. Stir the parsley through the braised beans before serving.

SLOW-ROASTED ANDALUSIAN-STYLE LAMB AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine garlic, thyme, and 2 tablespoons salt in a small bowl. Using your fingertips, rub mixture until it resembles wet sand (larger pieces of garlic will remain); set aside. Crush bay leaves.
• Combine half of potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and 1 crushed bay leaf in a large roasting pan; season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Spread out potatoes in a single layer.
• Place lamb on top of potatoes and rub with garlic mixture. Layer tomatoes, onions, remaining 3 crushed bay leaves, and remaining potatoes around and up sides of lamb, seasoning with salt and pepper and drizzling with remaining 6 tablespoons oil as you go (lamb will be nearly covered). Add wine to pan; cover tightly with foil.
• Roast until lamb is very tender, 3-4 hours. Remove foil and increase oven temperature to 425°F. Roast, turning lamb halfway through, until lamb is golden, 20-25 minutes longer. Let rest in roasting pan for 15-20 minutes. DO AHEAD: Lamb can be roasted 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Reheat before continuing.
• Pull meat from bones in large chunks; discard bones and fat. Place meat and vegetables on a platter. Skim fat from surface of cooking juices in pan. Spoon some cooking juices over lamb and vegetables and serve remainder alongside.

SLOW-ROASTED LAMB SHOULDER

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse together the pitted olives, garlic, cured lemon slices, olive oil and herbs to form a rustic paste. Be careful not to overprocess; you want the paste to stay a bit coarse.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Open the lamb shoulder up on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to trim and score the flesh. Season the inside with salt. Rub the inside of the lamb with the seasoning paste. Carefully roll the lamb tightly and truss, or tie, with butcher's twine. Season the outside of the roast with salt and pepper. Place the roast on a wire rack set inside a deep roasting pan. Roast the shoulder in the preheated oven for 1 hour 25 minutes.
• After 1 hour 25 minutes, remove the lamb from the oven and check the internal temperature of the roast with a metal probe thermometer the inside should read between 145 and 150 degrees F. If the temperature is lower, return the lamb to the oven and keep cooking until the desired internal temperature is reached.Once the lamb is cooked, set it aside in a warm place to let it rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Carefully remove the butcher's twine. With a sharp knife, carve the shoulder into thin slices. Arrange on a serving platter, season with coarse sea salt if you like, and serve immediately.