Go Back
+ servings
How to cook lamb roast
Print Recipe
3.67 from 3 votes

How to Cook Roast Lamb with a Mint Pistachio Pesto

Delicious and Easy Roasted Leg of Lamb with Mint PIstachio Pesto for an elegant dinner.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 40 minutes
Course: Entree
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8
Author: Angela Roberts

Ingredients

Boneless Leg of Lamb

  • 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary you may use more if fresh
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • lemon zest from half lemon
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • freshly grounded black pepper

Mint Pistachio Pesto

  • 1/3 cup roasted salted shelled pistachios
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • lemon zest from half lemon
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 cup big handful flat Italian parsley
  • 1 cup big handful fresh mint (see notes)
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Have ready a roasting pan with a rack.
  • If you purchase a leg of lamb wrapped in a net, it is already likely properly trimmed. Sometimes the net is oven safe. I always remove and retie.
  • If the leg of lamb still has the fell, a papery membrane, it must be trimmed off.
  • Retie lamb with butcher's twine.
  • Using a pairing knife, make sharp inserts about 1/2 long, all over the lamb. I will usually do this through the netting, but it doesn't matter.
  • Make lamb rub. Chop garlic, rosemary together. Mix with dijon mustard, lemon zest, olive oil.
  • Season lamb with salt and pepper all over.
  • Put the rub all over the lamb.
  • Put lamb onto rack on roasting pan. I
  • If you don't have a rack, just place on shallow baking pan, such as a large cast iron pan.
  • Roast till internal temperature reaches 130 degrees F. for medium rare in center. The pieces on the outside will be medium.
  • It will be approximately 20 minutes per pound.
  • Check the lamb at 60 minutes. If its getting too brown, loosely place a piece of foil over lamb.
  • Make Mint PIstachio Pesto
  • Chop garlic.
  • Put all ingredients for pesto into blender or food processor, until you get the texture you want.
  • If you want it chunky, a food processor works better. If you want it smoother, use a Vitamix type blender and add a tablespoon of softened butter at the end.

Notes

If you don't have a lot of fresh mint from a garden, buy one package and offset with more parsley if need be.