I'm an impulsive shopper (or is it compulsive? maybe I'm both), its my flaw and I know it; however this only takes place in the supermarket. If I'm to buy a jean it will take me forever to make up my mind, but when it comes to food it's really simple if I see something I like and I can picture myself cooking it I must have it. I'll tell you more about this latter, just remind me to.
Last Saturday morning at the supermarket a lovely lamb's leg winked at me (is it leg, or do you call it ham? I'm talking about the hind leg of the lamb). the day was gray and cold, so immediately it came to me, I'll roast this baby in the oven and invite some friends over. Bought some carrots, onions, potatoes and some fresh garlic and headed home.
For some reason or another, my friends couldn't make it that evening, all the better that bought me some time to marinate the lamb. I rubbed the leg with over a dozen of garlic cloves, and good pinch of salt, placed it in a ziploc bag and added a couple of fresh rosemary and thyme twigs, smashed peppercorns, drizzled it with olive oil and poured in 3/4 of a bottle of red wine,sealed it up and went into the fridge until the next morning.
You should have seen the colour that leg. I turned on the oven. sealed the lamb with some olive oil in a heavy bottom iron pot, then added the marinade, covered it with wax papper and let it roast in the oven for over 2 hours.
Ahh almost forgot I added a couple of carrots and onions cut in coarse pieces.
On a separate pan I a baked some the potatoes in the oven. I previously boiled them for a while (I hate when they come out half done) sliced them in fourths and added oil, sea salt and oregano.
On a pot on the stove y cooked glazed carrots. To do that you cut carrots in wheels and place them in the pot with about an inch of water salt, fresh ground pepper, sugar and butter, let it cook with the lid on for a while. When they are half done, take the lid of to let the water evaporate and the glazing begin (careful in this stage if left unstirred the sugar burns and you don't want that).
Enough about the process, I love to cook and I love to explain, but what I love the most is to eat.
I don't want to brag but it came out great, or at least that was what my friends said.
As soon as I get the pictures from my friends you'll see the finished dish.
Ahh one thing that I wanted to mention, the carrots that cooked with the lamb in the wine marinade turned out great, the taste amazing it triggered memories of another dish I tried years ago. Smells and flavours take me places and that is the beauty cooking, recreating a dish is recreating the past. (pretty corny right?)
Enough of this, on the next posting I'll tell you what I did with 2 pounds of chicken livers...
