Fennel Rubbed Leg of Lamb with Walnut Romesco Sauce

Julia Child once remarked, "you don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces, just good food from fresh ingredients." That is what fueled this recipe. I was looking for a way to make a really good lamb dish, but I wanted a recipe that is easy to make. 

In the end, I used two recipes. The first recipe was for lamb meatballs with a Romesco sauce. I had no intention to make lamb meatballs.  I actually had a boneless leg of lamb, but the thought of pairing that meat with a Romesco sauce seemed to be the perfect idea.

As an aside, a Romesco sauce originated in the Catalonian province of Tarragona.  It is a sauce prepared by fishermen to be eaten with fish. The basic ingredients for a Romesco sauce include tomatoes, garlic, nuts (typically almonds, pine nuts, or hazelnuts), nyora peppers (a small round red pepper) and olive oil. Beyond those ingredients, there is no standard recipe. Romesco sauces vary by region, by cook and even by ingredients. Thus, one could easily swap almonds with walnuts, or substitute a nyora pepper with a standard red bell pepper or another type of pepper. That is the beauty with a Romesco sauce. One could also add other ingredients, such as sherry vinegar and chipotle pepper, to add additional layers of flavor to the sauce.

I decided to use the walnut Romesco sauce from the lamb meatball recipe; however, I still needed a recipe for the leg of lamb itself.  I found a recipe that had the rub I wanted to use: a simple mixture of fennel and garlic, combined with black pepper and crushed red pepper. I decided to include the parts of the recipe that called for carrots and added some potatoes to the roast. The rest of it is relatively easy: preheat the oven,  put the rub on the lamb, sear the lamb, stick the lamb in the oven, roast until it reaches 135 degrees Fahrenheit, pull it out to rest, and dinner is almost ready to be served. 

FENNEL RUBBED LEG OF LAMB WITH WALNUT ROMESCO SAUCE

Recipes adapted from Epicurious

Serves 6-8

Ingredients (for the Romesco Sauce):

• 1/2 tablespoon chopped walnuts
• 1 small red bell pepper, halved, seeds removed
• 1 medium tomato, cored
• 1 garlic clove, unpeeled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder or chile powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• Kosher salt

Ingredients (for the lamb):

• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons fennel seeds
• 4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds small or medium carrots with tops
• 1 bag of small mixed potatoes, sliced in half

Directions:

1. Make the romesco sauce. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Toss bell pepper tomato and garlic with oil on a clean rimmed baking sheet and roast until browned and softened about 20-25 minutes. Let cool.  Remove skin from bell pepper, tomato and garlic, discard.  Puree walnuts, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, oil, vinegar, chipotle chile powder, parsley and paprika in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt and ground black pepper. 

2. Prepare the rub for the lamb.  Using a mortar and pestle, coarsely grind fennel seeds and red pepper flakes. Transfer to a small bowl and mix in garlic and 3 tablespoons of oil.  Evenly rub lamb all over with spice mixture, making sure to work it into every nook and cranny.

3. Sear the lamb.  Reduce the heat of the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat remaining 1/4 cup of oil in a large heavy skillet over medium. As soon as oil is hot and shimmering, add lamb to skillet and cook, carefully pouring off fat as needed into a small bowl and until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Trim tops from carrots.  Place lamb in the center of a roasting pan, pour reserved fat over the lamb, season with salt and pepper.  Place carrots and potatoes around the lamb. 

4. Roast the lamb. Roast the lamb until an instant read thermometer registers 135 degrees for medium rare, about 75 to 90 minutes.  Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes.  Slice the lamb in 1/2 inch slices. 

ENJOY!