Keep Calm. Spring Lamb is Here.

You’re fed up with winter and ready for spring. In our house, no other meal welcomes spring like a lamb feast. Before you panic, let me assure you that roasting lamb is not hard. Keep calm. Plunge in. With my recipe, you cannot fail. With this menu, you cannot fail to impress.

Spring Lamb Menu

• Roasted lamb with rosemary and garlic
• Spinach salad with diced apple, dressed with a sweet, vinegary vinaigrette
• Endive braisé
• Pommes Sandrinoise
  wine: pinot noir or chilled rosé prosecco
• Mango sorbet sundae with fresh tropical fruit topped with homemade vanilla whipped cream and toasted almonds.
  wine: slightly chilled white port

Spring table set with my mother-in-law’s hand-painted Danish Bing & Grondahl Seagull Porcelain and fresh-cut white calla lilies from my garden.

Leg of Lamb. Relax. Keep calm. You can do this!

• leg of lamb, New Zealand, approx 4 lbs
• garlic, peeled cloves
• sea salt, coarse
• rosemary, fresh

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Leave the netting on while cooking. (Net will not burn at these temperatures.)
3. Place lamb in a shallow roaster pan large enough to catch any juices.
4. Cut small slits in the meat and insert slivers of peeled garlic.
5. Cover with fresh rosemary springs and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
6. Put in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 325F.
7. Roast from 1h 15m-1h 45m, depending on desired degree of rareness.
8. If using a meat thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the leg and calculate 140F for medium/rare and160F for medium.
9. Remove lamb from oven.
10. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.
11. Let stand for 15 to 20 minutes.

Pommes Sandrinoise or Sandra’s potatoes made with layers of potatoes, onion, butter and cream topped with Swiss Gruyère cheese.

Pommes Sandrinoise
(Sandra’s potatoes)

Tips: The more cheese on top, the richer and thicker the crust. When layering, don’t stress over exact portions as the ingredients melt together, but the layers are important to distribute flavors. My family likes a flattish dish resulting in fewer layers but yielding plenty of crusty brown top. You can use a less expensive domestic cheese but will sacrifice the nutty richness of real Gruyère. If you must substitute, I recommend a sharp cheddar.

• potatoes (I prefer Yukon)
• onion (I prefer white)
• Gruyère cheese (Swiss, imported) 1 lb for 6-8 persons
• heavy cream (whipping cream)
• butter
• salt and pepper
• baking dish, not deep

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Peel and slice potatoes thinly.
3. Dice 1-2 onions, depending on portion size.
4. Shave Gruyere cheese using cheese grater. Set aside generous portion of the Gruyere for top.
5. Put a few small pats of butter on bottom of a baking dish that is more shallow than deep.
   Layers:
   – Spread single layer of sliced potatoes over surface of dish.
   – Sprinkle diced onion over potatoes.
   – Distribute small pats of butter over layer.
   – Pour small amount of cream over layer to moisten.
   – Salt and pepper to taste.
   – Sprinkle shaved cheese over layer – be generous!
6. REPEAT 3-4 more times.
7. Spread remaining Gruyere cheese on top.
8. Pour cream over surface until 1” deep on bottom of dish.
9. Bake about 1 hour @ 350F or until cheese forms a crusty brown layer on top.

Endive braisé made from Julia Child’s world-renown recipe. Look for Belgian endive in the produce department and simmer in lemon and onion until golden. This delightful tangy, slightly bitter side dish is my go-to for wild game or herby lamb.

Note: Julia Child has a marvelous easy recipe for endive braisé that can be made in advance.

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2018 issue of CHOICES Magazine