Leg of Lamb, A la Mayotte
Ingredients
* 1 8lb. Leg of Lamb (preferably bone in for flavor)
* 1 cup of green or black pitted olives
* 12 garlic cloves
* Shiitake mushrooms (or mushrooms of choice)
* 4-6 large Carrots
* 4-5 thin skinned potatoes
* 2 white onions
* 1 bunch of fresh thyme
* 1 bunch of fresh rosemary
* Coarsely ground black pepper
* Coarse sea salt
* 1/2 cup Romanos Forte extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 cup of white wine for cooking purposes
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Wash the meat well with water to get rid of any residue that could offset flavors. Peel several cloves of fresh garlic. If the individual garlic pieces are too big, cut them in half long ways to give them a slivered shape. This will help when inserting them into the meat. Using a thin pointed knife make 1” holes in the meat and insert the garlic pieces every 2 inches, or so, apart. When the leg is well covered with garlic pieces, sprinkle coarse sea salt and black pepper on the lamb to taste. 
Next take one bunch of thyme and a half a bunch of the rosemary and peel off the leaves from the stems. Discard the stems. With a cup of black or green pitted olives and the Thyme, Rosemary, and olive oil, blend together to a coarse tapenade in a Cuisinart or blender. Use this tapenade, or paste, to cover the entire leg of Lamb. Put the prepared leg of Lamb in a closed container. Add a little bit of the white wine – being careful when pouring on the meat as it may wash off the tapenade. Let the meat marinate for 6-8 hours, or longer, in the refrigerator to let the lamb absorb all of the flavors.
After marinating, place the leg of lamb in an enameled stoneware oval baker or a cast iron oven roaster. Preferably, use a small metal rack to allow the fat to drain off during roasting and to make sure that the leg of lamb is not touching the baker. Cut up several different vegetables including mushrooms, potatoes, carrots and onion into large pieces. Fill the pan with the vegetables around the edge of the leg of Lamb. Sprinkle sea salt and pepper lightly and spread the other half the rosemary bunch over top the vegetables. Pour extra virgin olive oil and a touch of the white wine over the vegetables as well. Don’t overdo the white wine or it will offset flavors.
Et Voila!
Bake the lamb covered for about 1 1/2 hours and monitor regularly. At the last half hour remove the cover to brown the meat and increase temperature to 375 degrees F. When leg is browned, tender and pink in the middle (130-135 degrees F when meat thermometer is used), remove from the oven.
Let it rest for about 10-15 minutes before carving.
Serve with a bottle of Daou Syrah or Daou Celestus and enjoy!
NOTE: Using the flavorful juices to make gravy is a wonderfully pleasing addition.
Author: Robin L. Daou
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