Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Chermoula

This months delicious. magazine has already been tagged with lots of hot pink sticky notes. For once, the planets have aligned so, not only are there lots of recipes I want to make, but I have all the ingredients on hand. This one is the butterflied leg of lamb with chermoula.

I had a leg of lamb in the freezer and I'm quite partial to taking to things with the knife and deboning. If you are a little squeemish or don't really have the time, a butterflied legs of lamb can be prepared by your butcher.

After removing the bone, I cut through the larger pieces of meat so it lay flat.

The chermoula mix before being liberally massaged into the lamb.

Stored in a plastic bag in the freezer for two days.

Hot off the BBQ. I served ours with some cubed, fried potatoes and salad, but it would be just as good sliced from the barbeque into flat bread and eaten in your hand.

Pink, succulent roast lamb - yum.

Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Chermoula.

2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 ½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp ground turmeric
5 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup finely chopped coriander, plus extra sprigs for garnish
2 – 2.5kg lamb leg, butterflied
Lime wedges and minted yoghurt to serve.

Mix the spices, garlic, oil, lemon juice, chopped coriander and 2 tspn pepper together in a bowl.
Place lamb, skin side down, on chopping board and open out. Spoon half the chermoula mix onto the meat and rub it in well. Turn over and repeat with the remaining mixture.
Place the lamb in a large snap lock bag, folding the lamb to fit. Place in a container with a tight fitting lid, or in a dish and cover well with plastic wrap.
Marinate lamb in the fridge for 1-2 days to allow the flavor of the chermoula to permeate the meat. Bring back to room temperature for about 30minsutes before you cook it.
Preheat the BBQ or char grill pan on high heat. Sear the lamb for about 4 minutes on each side.
Reduce the heat to medium, cover with the BBQ lid or a stainless steel bowl and cook for a further 13 – 15 mins on each side, until charred on the outside and rosy pink in the thickest parts of the meat.
Transfer lamb to a tray, cover with foil and rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Thickly slice the lamb across the grain, garnish with coriander and mint yoghurt and lime wedges.

from delicious., October 2008, Belinda Jeffery.