Roast Leg of Lamb

I don't buy lamb often. It's too expensive. They had some on for 50% off the other day though. I was hardly going to pass that up!

I used the rub from a Jamie Oliver recipe I found and the cooking instructions from a Martha Stewart recipe and met somewhere in the middle. I'd meant to make the mint sauce from the Jamie Oliver page as well, but I completely forgot about it. I might make up a small batch to go with the leftovers tomorrow. Honestly though, the lamb is delicious as is and I love the flavour of the rub. It doesn't need any sauce and part of me wonders if the mint mightn't take away from the delicious lamb and lemon flavours already present.

Roast Leg of Lamb
Adapted from Jamie Oliver and Martha Stewart
1 leg of lamb (mine was ~2.5kg), fell removed
coarse sea salt
pepper
zest of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp. garlic paste
1 bunch fresh rosemary, leaves removed and chopped
~1/4 c. olive oil
new potatoes (~200g per person)
carrots (1-2 per person); peeled and cut into large chunks/quarters
parsnips (I couldn't get any for this, but I definitely would've put a few in if I'd had 'em; 1-2 per person)
onions (1/2 per person, rounded up); peeled and cut into eighths
garlic (1-2 cloves per person); peeled and bruised

1. Combine the potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, and garlic in a large bowl.
2. Add 1/2 the rosemary and some salt and pepper. Drizzle over a couple tablespoons of olive oil and toss to coat. Dump veg into the bottom of a large roasting pan.
3. In a small bowl, combine the garlic paste, lemon zest, some pepper, ~1 tsp. of salt per kg of meat, and the remaining rosemary and olive oil.
4. Smear the mixture all over the lamb and place the leg on top of the veg in the roast pan.
5. Bake at 425F for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 325F and bake for an additional hour or until internal temperature reads 130F.
6. Broil for an additional 5 minutes then remove from oven and allow to sit for 15-20 minutes.
7. Serve with roast veg. Optionally add mint sauce or gravy. A salad might be nice along side as well.

I think a little bit of lemon zest added to the potatoes could be quite good. Other veg could be added as well if desired. Really though, this roast was pretty much perfect. The lamb was delicious and tender. The rub was amazing. I was initially dubious about the lemon zest, but it was great! Definitely don't leave it out!