I ended up taking a few liberties with this recipe. The original was written for a 650g boneless leg of lamb roast and was meant to be cooked entirely under the broiler. I ended up adapting it for a 2kg bone-in leg of lamb cooked on the "convection roast" setting in my oven. I feel it worked quite well overall and I would absolutely do it this way again.

I'm usually not a huge fan of fennel¹, but between the seasonings, the roasting, and the pan sauce/gravy... this fennel was actually pretty good!

Since I didn't figure the lamb and roasted fennel and onions would be sufficient to be a dinner on their own, I opted to serve them alongside some polenta with sautéed mushrooms and greens. I feel like this rounded out the meal nicely. (Although I think an additional vegetable side wouldn't have gone amiss either.) It made for a nice meal and TF and I both really liked the combination.

Leg of Lamb with Roasted Fennel & Onions

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. orange zest
• 1/4 c. minced fresh thyme (or 2 Tbsp. dried thyme)
• 1/4 c. minced shallot
• 4 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed
• 3 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground, divided
• 2 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground, divided
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 bone-in leg of lamb (~2kg)
• 1 large fennel bulb, cut into thin wedges
• 2 red onions, cut into thin wedges
• 1/3 c. dry vermouth
• 1/3 c. chicken stock
• 1-2 tsp. flour

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Use "convection roast" setting if available.
2. Combine orange zest, thyme, shallot, and fennel seeds and mix well. Separate ~1/4 of the shallot mixture and set aside.
3. To the remaining (larger portion) of shallot mixture, add 1 Tbsp. of the salt, 2 tsp. of the pepper, and 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil and mix well.
4. Coat the lamb with the oily shallot mixture.
5. Roast at 220°C (425°F) for 20 minutes.
6. Reduce temperature to 180°C (350°F) and continue roasting for another 70-90 minutes (or until desired doneness is reached).
7. Meanwhile, toss the fennel and onion with the remaining 1 Tbsp. of olive oil.
8. Separate 1 Tbsp. of shallot mixture from the reserved portion and set aside.
9. Add the remaining shallot mixutre to the fennel and onions along with the remaining 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper and mix well.
10. Spread the veggies out on a parchment- or silicone-lined baking sheet.
11. When the lamb has ~20 minutes left, place the baking sheet with the veggies in the oven and roast until tender and beginning to brown. If the veggies are not quite browned enough by the time the lamb is ready to come out, move them to the uppermost position and turn on the broiler for 2-3 minutes.
12. Once the lamb is done, transfer it to a serving platter.
13. Pour any juices from the roasting dish into a small pot and skim off as much fat as possible.
14. Pour the vermouth into the empty roasting dish and scrape the bottom to deglaze. Add this mixture to the pot.
15. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until reduced slightly.
16. Add the reserved 1 Tbsp. of shallot mixture and stir to combine.
17. Whisk the flour into the chicken stock, pour into the pot, and continue cooking until slightly thickened.
18. Pass the pan sauce at the table to be drizzled over both the lamb and the roasted veggies.
19. Serve with roasted potatoes and/or polenta and additional vegetable sides if desired.

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¹ As a vegetable, I mean. I like fennel seeds as a seasoning. I'm just not crazy about fennel bulbs most of the time. ^Back