Cooking lamb can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! With this surefire leg of lamb recipe from chef Kevin Johnson of The Grocery, you’re in for a remarkable meal. The feta vinaigrette is wonderful and refreshing on its own. Prepare up to a week ahead and enjoy with other meat dishes. Moving onto the lamb, season it generously before opening up that grill. Allow it to cook for a few hours and leave the panzanella for last. Serve to a crowd for a night everyone will remember. This leg of lamb is too good not to make.
recipe 
yields
Serves 6-8
6 cloves garlic
minced
2 shallots
minced
6 anchovies
minced
2 teaspoons espelette pepper
1 cup champagne vinegar
½ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive juice
¼ cup finely minced fresh oregano leaves
3 cups olive oil/canola oil blend
1 cup finely crumbled feta cheese
1 cup olive oil
12 cloves garlic
sliced
Peel of 3 lemons (use a vegetable peeler to peel long strands)
1 large bunch rosemary
tied with twine to be used as baster
2 teaspoons fennel seed
2 teaspoons coriander seed
2 teaspoons cumin seed
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon caraway seed
2 teaspoon mustard seed
4 cloves,1 star anise
Pinch red chile flakes
1 (3-pound) domestic boneless leg of lamb
tied (Johnson prefers Border Springs Farm)
Salt
1 cup feta vinaigrette
6 slices toasted sourdough bread
torn into bitesized pieces
2/3 cup oil-cured black olives
2/3 cup thinly-sliced pepperoncini
3-4 cups assorted vegetables
such as shaved fennel
chopped cucumbers
cherry tomatoes
roasted lunchbox sweet peppers
roasted spring onions
arugula
dandelion greens
baby kale
and shaved celery
2 cups torn fresh basil
mint
and parsley
For the feta vinaigrette
For the mop:
For the lamb:
For the panzanella:
steps
- Make the vinaigrette: In a medium bowl, combine first four ingredients. Add vinegar, lemon juice, and olive juice, and let stand about 10 minutes. Add oregano and whisk in oil. Stir in feta. Store in refrigerator while your proceed with the rest of the recipe. Can be made up to a week ahead.
- Make the mop: In a small bowl, combine first three ingredients.
- Make the lamb: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, mix spices together and then spread on baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Cool, and then grind in a spice mill or coffee grinder until fine. Season lamb liberally with salt and then coat completely with spice mixture.
- Prepare a grill by building a hot bed of charcoal on one side of grill. Heat to 300 to 325 degrees. Cook lamb over very low heat away from coals for about 3 hours, basting every 30 minutes with rosemary dipped in mop. When internal temperature reaches 120 degrees, place lamb closer to heat to slightly char on the outside. Remove from heat when internal temperature reaches 130 degrees. Tent with foil and rest for about 30 minutes before carving.
- Make the panzanella: In large bowl, combine bread, olives, and pepperoncini. Liberally dress with feta vinaigrette and let stand a few minutes to let the bread soak up the dressing. Add vegetables (hold off on any leafy greens until the last minute) and toss. Right before serving, fold in leafy greens, if using, and herbs.
Date Published: 04.27.17
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- Recipe by Chef Kevin Johnson of The Grocery in Charleston, South Carolina
-
Contributing Restaurant
The Grocery -
Contributing City
Charleston
