ROASTED RED WINE MARINATED NEW ZEALAND LEG OF LAMB WITH ROSEMARY KALAMATA OLIVE AIOLI

ROASTED RED WINE MARINATED NEW ZEALAND LEG OF LAMB WITH ROSEMARY KALAMATA OLIVE AIOLI


Ingredients

  • 1 ea New Zealand leg of lamb, bone in

MARINADE

  • 1 cup dry red wine such as a Merlot, Shiraz, or Zinfandel
  • ½ cup canola or olive oil
  • 1 cup fresh rosemary needles, loosely packed (no stems)
  • 4 cloves fresh garlic
  • 1 small yellow onion, large dice
  • 1 Tbsp black pepper, ground
  • 2 Tbsp kosher salt (or 1 Tbsp of sea salt)

ROSEMARY AND KALAMATA AIOLI

  • 2 cloves fresh garlic
  • ½ cup fresh rosemary, rough chopped
  • 5 or 6 fresh basil leaves, rough chopped, loosely packed
  • 2 or 3 anchovy filets
  • 2 tsp capers, roughly chopped
  • ¾ cup Kalamata olives, pitted, rinsed under water, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1¼ cups mayonnaise
  • to taste freshly ground pepper

Directions for the Marinade:

  1. In a blender or food processor, combine the rosemary, garlic, onion, black pepper, salt and oil, process to a coarse paste, add red wine and process to combine – the marinade will be thick. Marinade can be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated.
  2. Remove the lamb from bag and rinse under cold water, pat dry with a paper towel. Place leg in a non-reactive pan or ceramic dish.
  3. Apply marinade to meat by spooning/pouring over leg, turn leg to coat evenly
  4. cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours and up to 8 hours.
  5. Occasionally remove leg from refrigerator and turn by one third – spoon marinade from pan over leg, cover and return to refrigerator.

Directions for the Aioli:

  1. In a blender or food processor, add ½ cup of the rosemary, a ¼ cup of the chopped olives with the garlic, anchovy, capers, basil, lemon juice/zest and balsamic vinegar – process to smooth. Stop and scrape sides with a spatula as necessary.
  2. Add mayonnaise and pulse to blend; scrape sides and slowly add in olive oil until well blended.
  3. Transfer the aioli to a mixing bowl
  4. Fold in the remaining chopped olives and rosemary, season to taste with salt and pepper, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
  5. Can be prepared up to three days in advance and kept in the refrigerator.

Cooking the Leg of Lamb:

  1. Preheat oven to 500°F (475°F convection). Add roasting rack to roasting pan if desired.
  2. Remove leg from marinade; season leg with salt and pepper then spoon some of the marinade over the meat and place leg in roasting pan.
  3. Place lamb in the oven. After 10 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 350°F (325°F convection) and continue to roast until desired doneness; approximately ½ hours for medium-rare to medium.
  4. For best results, use a meat thermometer to take the internal temperature after lamb has been roasting for approximately ¼ hours and thereafter every 10 minutes until meat is cooked to desired doneness.
  5. Then remove leg from oven, loosely tent with foil and allow the roast to rest for 10 to 15 minutes
  6. The meat will continue to increase in temperature 8°F; this is known as carry-over cooking.
  7. After the roast has rested, make several ¼ inch slices perpendicular to the bone, then cut parallel to the bone to detach the slices and arrange on a platter.
  8. Serve a dollop of Aioli on the side of the sliced meat.

Cooking Times:

If your desired doneness is:

Remove lamb from oven when meat thermometer reads:

Carry Over Cooking final approx. internal temperature:

Medium-rare

128°F – 133°F

133°F – 138°F

Medium

134°F – 140°F

139°F – 145°F

Medium-well

141°F – 145°F

147°F – 152°F

Well done

145°F – 150°F

152°F – 158°F
 
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