Roast Easter Lamb with White Wine
This is an Italian recipe from the incomparable Marcella Hazan’s The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking Where she tells us “In Italy, to eat lamb is to welcome the end of winter and hail the coming of Spring, to celebrate renewal, to connect one’s feelings with the Easter spirit of rebirth. ” Few other meats possess the tenderness of young, roasted lamb and the following recipe is a simple, fragrant way they cook the first lamb of the season at Easter.
Ingredients
- 800-900g/2lbs Spring lamb
- 2 tbsps Avocado oil
- 15g/.5oz Butter
- 3 Whole cloves garlic peeled
- Sprig fresh rosemary/ tsp of dried
- Salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 150ml/5fl oz Dry white wine
Directions
- Get a pot that can accommodate the lamb whole, if not divide lamb into 2 or more pieces. Put oil and butter in pot and turn heat medium-high. When butter foam subsides put in lamb, garlic, and rosemary.
- Brown the meat thoroughly all over especially the skin side. IF garlic becomes very dark remove and add to top of lamb.Add salt, pepper and wine. Let simmer briskly fro 20 seconds. Turn the meat once or twice then adjust heat to cook at very gentle simmer and cover pot with lid slightly askew.
- Cook for 1.5-2hrs until the lamb is cooked all the way through and begins to come off the bone. Turn the meat from time to time. If the liquid becomes insufficient replenish it with with 2/3 tbsps of water whenever needed.
- When done, transfer the lamb to a warm serving platter. Tip the pan to spoon off all but a small amount of the fat. Add 2 tbsps of water, raise the heat to high and while it boils, scrape loose the cooking residues from the bottom and sides. Pour the pot juices over the lamb and serve at once.