Lamb with mint jelly was one of my grandmother's standard dishes, and very good it was. She was from Vermont, and I haven't ever come across mint jelly in Italy. However, people do combine mint and lamb here too; this lamb with mint recipe is from the Abruzzo, and will serve six:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 90 minutes
Ingredients:
- A boned leg of lamb, weighing about 3 1/3 pounds (1.5 k)
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- A bunch of fresh mint, minced
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- An onion, minced
- A carrot, minced
- A rib of celery, minced
- Salt and pepper
Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C).
Slip salt and pepper, together with garlic slivers and minced mint, into the cuts that were made to remove the bone, then salt and pepper the outside of the meat as well, tie it, and put it in a roasting pan. Sprinkle the oil and the minced herbs over it, and roast it until done in the oven. For how long? This depends upon your taste; Italians prefer lamb well done, and would roast it for at least an hour, and likely longer.
Serve it hot, slicing it and dusting it with a little more minced mint.
A wine? A Montepulciano D'Abruzzo would be nice, as would a full bodied Barbera D'Asti Superiore.
Yield: 6 servings lamb with mint.
Slip salt and pepper, together with garlic slivers and minced mint, into the cuts that were made to remove the bone, then salt and pepper the outside of the meat as well, tie it, and put it in a roasting pan. Sprinkle the oil and the minced herbs over it, and roast it until done in the oven. For how long? This depends upon your taste; Italians prefer lamb well done, and would roast it for at least an hour, and likely longer.
Serve it hot, slicing it and dusting it with a little more minced mint.
A wine? A Montepulciano D'Abruzzo would be nice, as would a full bodied Barbera D'Asti Superiore.
Yield: 6 servings lamb with mint.
