| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 35 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 35 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- Deselect All
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, toasted (see Cook’s Note)
- 1/3 cup fresh oregano leaves, chopped
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 1/2 pounds (trimmed weight) lamb loin, boned, fat and membranes removed (reserve tenderloins for another use)
- 1/2 cup Roasted Garlic Paste, recipe follows
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 metal or wooden skewers, soaked in water 30 to 60 minutes
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound whole garlic heads
- 1/2 cup pure olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a small skillet, heat the olive oil and chili flakes over low heat for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and add the oregano, garlic and lemon zest. Pour mixture out of the pan and into a bowl. Allow to cool.
- For the lamb skewers:
- Slice lamb loin lengthwise (as if filleting) into 2 pieces about 1/2-inch thick. Using a mallet or the heel of your palm, lightly pound meat to about 1/4-inch thickness then cut each in half lengthwise. Place meat in a non-metallic dish and pour reserved oregano marinade over the meat. Turn several times to coat, cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
- When ready to cook, prepare grill or preheat broiler.
- Remove lamb from marinade and discard marinade. Spread about 1 tablespoon garlic paste on each of the lamb pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Roll meat lengthwise end to end and place on skewers. Brush with olive oil. Grill or broil to desired doneness, 10 to 15 minutes for medium-rare meat, depending on heat of grill. Turn meat occasionally to ensure even cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Peel the outermost layers of skin off the heads of garlic. Cut off the top 1/3 of the heads to open the cloves. Put the heads, cut sides up, in a small baking dish and pour the olive oil over them. Season with salt and pepper. Cover tightly, place in the oven, and roast until about 3/4 cooked, about 45 minutes. Uncover and return to the oven until the cloves begin to pop out of their skins and brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool.
- When garlic is cool enough to handle easily, squeeze the roasted garlic into a small bowl. Press against the skins very well to get out all the sweet roasted garlic you can. Add the oil from the baking dish and mix well until a paste forms. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 1 week.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1382 |
| Total Fat | 119 g |
| Saturated Fat | 25 g |
| Carbohydrates | 42 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 42 g |
| Cholesterol | 145 mg |
| Sodium | 882 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1382 |
| Total Fat | 119 g |
| Saturated Fat | 25 g |
| Carbohydrates | 42 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 42 g |
| Cholesterol | 145 mg |
| Sodium | 882 mg |
Reviews
Kk
I’m afraid I was disappointed. I had high hopes after dropping a lot of cash on sirloin lamb chops and then spending an hour trimming the meat from the bone (which was painful). The end result was…’meh’. The flavour was there, quite tasty, in fact. But the texture was off-putting with the garlic paste. I thought I was pretty light on the garlic paste but I still noticed the ‘mushy’ interior of each bite and it was kind of odd. My guests agreed with me as well, although they did eat all of them. Frankly, for the amount of work and cost of the lamb I think one could do a lot better.
I made this recipe a few months back and dug out the recipe to make it again recently. My family loved this. This is time consuming, but worth the extra effort. Fresh rosemary is a must.
It was hard to find any good lamb meat – ended up getting a boneless leg of lamb. I wasn’t sure how to skewer it after I pounded it all flat and rolled up my pieces – that might have been clearer if I had seen the show. We ended up rolling it up and tying it shut with some string and putting the small rolls on the BBQ without any skewers. It was very good – but I was disappointed since I had spent so much on the meat. Also I was surprised the marinade didn’t have any lemon juice or vinegar – that might have tendered it up better.
All in all it was good – but not great. I wouldn’t do exactly this recipe again – but I would love to try that nice cut of lamb a different way.
This was a great marinade. We used dry oregano instead of fresh because we didn’t have any on hand and I definitely would not suggest doing the same. It just wasn’t as flavorful but I am sure the fresh would make a hug difference. Very tasty and simple to make!
I saw this recipe being made on Michael Chiarello’s “Easy Entertaining” progran and was inspired to try it for visitors who enjoy lamb. We ended up making this last night and it turned out wonderfully; however, a word to the wise- when buying 1-1/2 lbs of “lamb loin,” be ready to pay for about 4 lbs of lamb, as most butchers charge for the weight of the bone as well. It’s now sitting in my freezer, ready for stewing.