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"It's so beautifully arranged on the the plate – you know someone's fingers have been all over it." – Julia Child

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Major holidays and large celebrations demand a roast: turkey, ham, turducken… Whatever the beast, a roast feeds a crowd and gives a table the event its hosting pomp and circumstance.

Don’t be frightened! Cooking a roast is really not scary. You just need a good butcher and a meat thermometer. For this roast, call your butcher a few days in advance and place your order — while it’s not uncommon, it’s not always just available. You don’t really have to bother with a marinade other than lots of garlic (and, optionally, herbs like rosemary) when you’re ready to cook, so that’s another easy thing, but do definitely have that thermometer on hand because you really won’t be able to tell at what temperature the meat is by looking at it or even poking it as you might do a steak.

Lamb should be pink, and I suggest cooking it to medium-rare, but, other temperatures are included in the recipe below so you can go rarer or more well done. What to serve alongside? You can opt for basics like a green salad with lots of herbs and good olive oil and roasted potatoes, or add a few Middle Eastern touches like labneh and tahini.

ROASTED LEG OF LAMB
Serves 10 – 12

1 (6 to 7-pound) leg of lamb
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 heads of garlic plus12 peeled garlic cloves
Olive oil

– Take the lamb out of the fridge 1 hour prior to roasting.  You can set a roasting rack inside a roasting pan, or set an oven-safe cooling rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Lamb is fatty and will splatter in the oven, so if you’re going with the baking sheet, I recommend covering the oven rack with foil to catch any drips.

– Score (make shallow cuts) the lamb in a criss-cross pattern. Rub generously with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and rub into the lamb.

– Cut off the top third of each of the 6 heads of garlic and place on top of a sheet of foil.  Drizzle the garlic generously with oil and season with salt. Wrap the garlic and set it on a baking sheet.

– Mince the remaining garlic cloves and add about 1 teaspoon of salt to it to help form it into a paste. Set aside.

– Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and another to the middle-lower position and set the oven to broil. Broil the lamb for  5 to 7 minutes until its golden brown. Carefully remove the lamb from the oven and, with bunched paper towels, roll it over. Add a bit more olive oil and broil once gain for 5 to 7 minutes.  If you have a pastry torch or a propane torch, you can add a bit more charring with it.

– Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Place the foil-wrapped garlic in the on the lower rack. Rub the garlic over the lamb, adding more oil if it looks too dry. Tent the lamb loosely with foil and cook for 1 hour on the middle rack. Check the temperature, then continue cooking, checking the temperature every 15 minutes until the lamb reaches the doneness you want.

Rare: 125°F
Medium-rare : 130°F – 135°F
Medium 135°F – 140°F

– Remove the lamb from the oven and allow it to rest for about 20 minutes before transferring it to a cutting board or platter for carving. Use a sharp knife and cut slices perpendicular to the bone, then parallel to release them.

FOR THE SIDES

These are “non”recipes in that you can buy many of the components almost ready to serve and that you can season the rest to taste! Easy!

–    Parsley, watercress, mint, cilantro, and dill salad with sliced scallions and blood orange wedges, seasoned with salt and pepper, extra-virgin olive oil, and blood orange juice.
–    Roasted garlic: once the lamb is done, the garlic can just be arranged on a platter. The garlic will squeeze out easily and spread on pita or other bread.
–    Hummus: store-bought! Top it with some olive oil and black sesame seeds.
–    Sesame tahini with a swirl of tangy date or pomegranate molasses (both available in the international section of many markets, at Middle Eastern markets, or online).
–    Thinly sliced cucumbers and radishes with red onions and red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.
–    Labneh with chopped pistachios and Aleppo pepper.

 

I have been remiss… It always happens that I get bulldozed with work and other distractions and I allow the blog to gather dust, much to the more diligent Tara’s annoyance. This post, along with a surprise guest-starring one coming up soon, begs to be paid attention to as the summer goes bipolar between summery hot flashes and incoming fall’s feverish chills.

This salad is actually something I hope to drag into the cold with certain variations in ingredients – it’s a salad that leaves those plastic bowl, carry-out, romaine chopped things in the dust with a robust smoky backbone of flavor. Oh, and, granita! I make a lot of granitas, for desserts and cocktails mostly, but a few months ago at one of my favorite restaurants (Blood & Sand in St. Louis) I had a lovely English pea and pea shoot tangle topped with a buttermilk frost that was divine in a very delicate sort of way.

This granita is salty lime and mint, and melts into the salad and its drizzle of olive oil for a refreshing and surprising twist on vinaigrette. Look out for some MacGyver action in this recipe, too: grilling, indoors!

CHAYOTE AND ROASTED POBLANO SALAD
Serves 4

For the Lime Granita
1 ½ cups water
¾ cup fresh lime juice (from about 6 limes)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ cup packed mint leaves
Salt

– Stir 1 cup water and lime juice together in an 8- by 8-inch metal baking dish or other similar-sized vessel.

– Bring the remaining ½ cup water, sugar, mint, and ½ teaspoon salt to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Stir mixture into the lime mixture and adjust seasoning to taste.

Place dish in the freezer and scrape with a fork once every 45 to 60 minutes, until mixture is completely frozen and has the consistency of a slushy. Reserve in freezer until needed.

For the Salad
5 chayotes
Salt
4 poblano peppers, scrubbed
10 scallions
Olive oil oil
6 radishes, scrubbed, tops and bootoms trimmed, thinly sliced
½ cup (about 2 ounces) queso fresco or other Latin American hard cheese, crumbled
½ cup packed cilantro leaves

– Peel the chayotes, cut them in half, scoop the seed out with a metal 1-teaspoon measure or melon baller, and cut into thin matchsticks. Prepare an ice bath by combining 3 cups of ice and 3 cups of cold water in a large bowl. Set up a strainer in the sink. Bring a large bot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the chayotes and cook for 2 minutes. Drain them and immediately plunge them in the ice bath. Once cool, drain them again. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and spread chayotes out in an even layer to dry.

– If you have a gas stove, char the poblanos over an open flame, turning with tongs occasionally, until their skins are black and blistered. Wrap them in foil and allow to cool about 10 minutes. Remove the stems and tear out and discard the ribs and seeds, then slice the poblanos thinly (lengthwise), and place them in a large bowl.
If you don’t have a gas stove,  heat a large dry skillet or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the poblanos until black and blistered and follow steps above.

– Again, if you have a gas stove, toss the scallions with olive oil, then lay them on a metal gridded cooling rack over an open flame and cook them until charred. Otherwise, cook them in the same skillet as the poblanos. Transfer them to a cutting board, trim off and discard the root end, then coarsely chop and transfer to bowl with poblanos.

– Add the radishes, cheese, and cilantro and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and drizzle with olive oil.  Plate the salads and top with granita. Enjoy immediately.