Cumin and Fennel-Crusted Roast Lamb
Before we get into this memorable lamb recipe, we want to thank all of you for the outpouring of support and condolences over the loss of our Grandma last week. Your kind words are heartwarming.
We have made this lamb recipe twice now and we fall more and more in love with it each time we make it. We have never eaten much lamb outside of Easter dinner. Our mom always made a roasted leg of lamb served with the requisite mint jelly and we'd always put a little on our plate, but nothing about it ever made us crave it outside of the holiday.
However, our husband has always been a huge lamb fan. He was sick this past Easter and didn’t get to enjoy any lamb, so we surprised him a couple of weeks later with this dinner to make up for his missed meal. We had searched for a speedy and straightforward roast lamb recipe that didn’t feed an army and settled on this one, as the spice combination sounded outstanding. It was a huge hit, and it will probably become “the” lamb recipe in our cooking arsenal.
The lamb is crusted with a combination of garlic and crushed black peppercorns, fennel and cumin seeds, which makes for an unbelievable flavor and an even more memorable aroma. Most baking smells are pretty familiar to all of us – chocolate chip cookies, a vanilla cake, cinnamon and fall spices, chocolate, etc. This one, however, is one we wish we could bottle and create a scratch-and-sniff sticker for because it’s that standout. The smell that wafts from the oven while this is roasting is positively intoxicating. And then once you take a bite? Swoon. That memorable crust houses lamb that is tender and melts in your mouth. Definitely a meal fit for a king.
Not only is it speedy and straightforward (hello, weeknight dinner), but it also has tons of complex flavors and tastes positively elegant (hello, dinner party or holiday). If a string of pearls could take on a culinary form, they would want to be this lamb dish.
The original recipe for this lamb included a from-scratch mint sauce, but we have always enjoyed mint jelly with our lamb, so we stuck with that. We've served it with both mashed potatoes and roasted red potatoes, as well as roasted baby carrots, both of which complement the lamb beautifully. We hope you’ll give this recipe a try and enjoy it as much as we have!
One year ago: Russian Pound Cake
Two years ago: Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars
Three years ago: From-scratch Pierogi
Four years ago: Outrageous Brownies
- Yield: 4 servings
- Prep: 30 minutes
- Cook: 45 minutes
- Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 lb. ( 680.39 g ) boneless lamb roast, shoulder or leg
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced or put through a garlic press
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ( 0.5 teaspoon ) black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Method
- Remove lamb from the refrigerator 1 hour before starting to bring it to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put the salt, black peppercorns, fennel seeds and cumin seeds in a spice grinder (or use a mortar and pestle) to roughly grind.
- Rub the outside of the lamb with the garlic. Sprinkle half of the rub over one side of the lamb in a thick layer. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat until hot. Add a splash of olive oil and place the lamb in the pan, seasoned side down. Sprinkle the remaining rub on the other side of the lamb. Saute until brown and seared, 5 to 6 minutes, then flip and repeat on the other side. Put the pan in the oven and roast until desired doneness (about 140 degrees F for medium). Remove the pan from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Slice the lamb and serve with mint jelly.
