Paper Palate

Oddly enough, right before last week’s NY Times Dining section hit the stands, my friends and I had a very similar thought to Matt and Ted Lee’s : to cook a big piece of meat for a crowd. I wholeheartedly agree that big cuts of meat are a wonderful thing to serve to groups of dinner guests. The larger the cut of meat, the more intimidating it looks to most people, thus giving it a somewhat impressive air when actually served for a party. Moreover, big cuts tend to be an affordable and less stressful way to cook for a group. While the meat is roasting or braising, the cook is then free to set out hors d’ouevres and mingle with their guests.

With NYC’s brutally hot and humid summers on the way, it’s a good time for the oven’s last hurrah; no one wants it running 2-3 hours at 350-400 degrees. And since we were in the Springtime/Easter/Passover spirit, much like the Lee brothers, we agreed lamb would be a good way to go. We went a totally different direction than the Lees, though. Where they thought North African, we thought French/Traditional. They used a leg, we used loin. I do love the prep they gave their leg of lamb and would love to try it sometime, but I thought it’d be appropriate to supplement “Got A Crowd Coming Over?… “ with an additional idea for lamb. We served this with a spring-inspired risotto (asparagus, chives, parsley, lemon zest and crème fraiche) and green beans with lemon and olive oil. Great for a crowd, cook it while you can!

Lamb Loin with Parsley/Rosemary Persillade
Serves 8-10
6-7 lbs lamb loin (deboned and tied by your butcher)
½ head garlic
1 cup total Italian parsley and rosemary
1-2 tablespoons salt
olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Finely chop the parsley and rosemary, mix together and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
3. Cut about half your garlic into slivers. Finely chop the other half and make paste by crushing with 2 teaspoons kosher salt, using flat side of a knife.
4. Cut enough slits in loin to insert garlic slivers into holes.
5. Brush lamb loin with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
6. Heat large saucepan and sear lamb loin on all sides till golden brown (if you have cut your loin into 2 pieces, do each separately).
7. Remove from pan and let it cool slightly (so it may be handled).
8. Rub the loin all over with garlic paste and then roll in herb mixture (works best on a shallow platter) so that all sides are covered.
9. Put in ovenproof casserole dish and place in oven.
10. Cook for about 25-30 minutes or until meat thermometer reaches 125 for rare, 130 for medium rare.
11. Cover with foil and let sit 5-10 minutes (temp will raise about 5 degrees).
12. Slice and serve!