Agnello arrosto
Roast leg of lamb, Umbria-style
The roast leg of lamb is a very tasty dish, common in the center and south of Italy. This is the recipe Loretta learnt in Umbria during her stay. You'll need very few ingredients: lamb leg, garlic, lard, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper. The active time is very short, only for the preparation. The oven will make the remaining work! If you like lamb meat read our page with other lamb recipe ideas.
zoom »
yeld for 6
- 1 1.2kg (2 2/3 pounds) leg of lamb
- 60g (2 1/8 ounces) lard
- Half a garlic clove
- Fresh rosemary
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Time:
preparation: 10 minutes
cooking: about 70 minutes
total: 80 minutes - Difficulty:
easy recipe - Nutrition Facts (amount per serving):
Calories: 381 (kCal) 20 % GDA (*) - 1594 (kJ)
Protein: 33.4 (g) 67 % GDA
Total fat: 27.4 (g) 40 % GDA
Total carbohydrate: 0.0 (g)
Sugars: 0.0 (g)
Roast leg of lamb recipe
Preparation
- - Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F).
- - Chop the lard with garlic and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- - Remove the visible fat from the leg of lamb
- - Wash the leg and pat dry with absorbent kitchen paper.
- - Make little cuts here and there in the meat using a sharp knife and put inside a little of lard-and-garlic mixture and a little piece of fresh rosemary.
- - Grease the meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper and thread it in the spit of the oven.
Cooking
- - Bake the lamb leg, greasing it now and then, until golden.
It may take about an hour or little more. - - Remove the roast leg from the oven, carve all the possible pieces of meat.
More irregular they'll be the better it will be according to the Umbrian tradition. - - Arrange the pieces in the same pan in which you've picked up the fat during the cooking.
Just before cooking
- - Bake for some other minutes to complete cooking.
- - Serve the lamb leg hot.
Note
Tips
- - Don't worry if you have not the spit. You can cook your lamb leg in a baking pan. In this case turn the lamb halfway through the cooking time.
- - If you cook the lamb leg at 200°C (400°F) you'll need more time to complete the cooking. At least 90 to 100 minutes.
- - If you prefer to serve slices of roast leg rather than irregular pieces you'll need to get help from the butcher. In fact you'll have to buy boneless leg of lamb. In this case you'll have to make three to four cuts through the lamb meat from one end to the other and place rosemary pieces and a little of lard-and-garlic mixture into these slits. Besides you'll have to tie them in place with kitchen string.
The cooking time may also change substantially.
Menu planning
- - Accompany the roast leg of lamb with a seasonal salad. In spring the best is a baby spinach salad dressed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt. In Umbria (Central part of Italy) people serve roast leg of lamb accompanied by some potatoes cooked in the coals or in the lamb fat. Anyway is a typical dish for special occasions, Easter lunch, birthday party ...
Healthy eating
- - Daily menu. I calculated the nutrition facts of the roast lamb considering a leg of lamb with no visible fat.
In this condition the roast leg of lamb recipe has 381 calories. If you don't take off the visible fat and use more olive oil, calories and fat will rise significantly.
This lamb dish is rich in protein and fat like all meat recipes and you shouldn't eat it frequently. Remember the nutritionists suggest to eat meat rarely and prefer poultry. My tip is to choose it for a special occasion.
Anyway if you decide to eat the roast lamb frequently, please, keep in mind that:
- most of the foods, main source of protein, should be eaten at dinner and the calories eaten at dinner should be 500 - 600 (25 to 30% of energy needs for an adult if his daily needs are about 2000 calories and he correctly divides his calories into 5 micro-meals).
- it is necessary to plan very well the other meals of the day. Prefer vegetables, fruit and food source of carbohydrates (total carbohydrates are absent in this lamb stew) but in the right quantity. What about a tasty vegetarian pasta dish and fruit for lunch? do you like this proposal?
Accompany your roast leg of lamb with raw seasonal vegetables, green salad and fresh seasonal fruit.
You should know the Italian tradition suggests to accompany the roast leg of lamb with potatoes. But do you know how many calories, fat and protein are in 150g (5 1/3 ounces) potatoes cooked in 2 tablespoons olive oil? Your calories would increase to 577, protein to 35g, fat to 38.7g ...
No comment :-)
I confirm my opinion. It's better to taste it rarely.
However there is a trick to reduce the calories and fat. I learnt it during my stage in Umbria. Prepare a mixture of olive oil and wine (3 tablespoons olive oil + 3 tablespoons wine to be stirred vigorously) with which to grease the surface of your lamb leg before and during baking. The saving is high. The counter marks: - 90 calories and - 10g of fat per head. Not bad, really? The purists will disagree but the roast leg of lamb is tasty anyway! Believe me! - - Celebration menu. If you prepare it for a celebration menu don't worry too much about the nutrition facts. It's a rare event.
- - This roast lamb dish has no fiber intake.
- - The recommended portions of meat per week must not be more than 3 to 4, included cuts (not more than one per week). Anyway give preference to poultry.
- - If you want to drink a glass of wine remember you have to add 80-85 calories per 100ml.
- - I remember you our original home recipes can be made without salt. There is always a combination of flavors that substitutes salt. Other no salt recipes ...
By Loretta
What's the right wine ?
Carlo and I are used to pair Vino Nobile diMontepulciano (red wine from Tuscany) with this delicious lamb dish.
The author Loretta Sebastiani lives in Italy (IT)
Google+ | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest