Hi everybody! Hope you had a wonderful Easter. We did here. We had my Mother-in-Law, two other couples and my husband and myself. I know this blog is about stretching a dollar, but in this family, Easter means leg of lamb with roasted potatoes and onions and asparagus, and there is no way around it – it is expensive. So, I make sure we have enough to have a couple more dinners and my favorite, lamb vegetable soup.
Making the leg of lamb is pretty straight forward. I like a 7-8 lb. leg of lamb, and always bone-in (the flavor is better, and the bone is essential for the soup). I start by mincing about 6 cloves of garlic and a few springs of rosemary (about 2 tablespoons worth) and mixing both with about a 1/3 cup of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. I let that sit while I cut another 2 cloves of garlic into slivers. Then I take a sharp knife and make a slit under the fat layer of the lamb and stick a sliver of garlic and a rosemary leaf into it. I continue making slits and inserting the garlic and rosemary until the lamb is loaded up. Once that is finished, I pour the olive oil mixture over the lamb and rub it in. I let that sit for about an hour to allow the lamb to come close to room temperature. I put the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan, fat side up. It cooks for about 15-20 minutes per pound at 335 degrees for medium rare. The meat thermometer should read 130 degrees. I used to roast the potatoes and onions in the same roasting pan while the meat cooked, but it was difficult to control, so now I roast them separately. I mince more garlic and rosemary, add salt and pepper, and roast them at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. I also roast the asparagus in a hot oven while the finished meat rests, since it only takes about 15 minutes at 450 degrees. I serve it with a springy salad, tri-color carrots and mint jelly (and mint sauce for our English friends), and it’s delicious!
Now for my favorite part of the leg of lamb dinner – the lamb vegetable soup! First, all the meat has to be cut from the bone. Now I have this lovely bone that goes into a large pot. I cover the bone with cold water and a cup of red wine, and I add 2 cloves of garlic, 2 bay leaves, and a teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. I bring the pot to a boil and then simmer the bone for about 5-6 hours. I put the pot into the fridge, and once it is cold, any fat will congeal at the top of the pot and can be spooned out and discarded. Then I remove the garlic and bay leaves, and the stock is ready to use.
Sometimes I reserve some lamb meat to add to the soup, but it’s really not necessary. The lamb flavor is already there, and the soup is really about all the vegetables. I cut up carrots, celery, mushrooms, asparagus, a leek and a fennel bulb and sauté them in a pasta pot in butter until they begin to soften (if I’m using leftover cooked asparagus, I don’t sauté it, I just put it in after the vegetables are ready). I add the lamb stock to the pasta pot. If there isn’t enough stock, I add some beef broth to stretch it out. I add a couple of rosemary springs and salt and pepper to taste, and I let it all simmer for at least a ½ hour. Then I remove the rosemary, and the soup is ready to serve! Here is the recipe:
Lamb Vegetable Soup
Ingredients for stock:
1 bone from a leg of lamb
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 cup red wine (optional)
Water to cover (start with 15 cups, plus the cup of wine; add more if needed as the day progresses)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp peppercorn
Ingredients for soup:
2 tbsp butter
3 carrots peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
2 large celery stocks sliced in half moon shapes
8 oz mushrooms cut into bite-size pieces (half or quarters)
1 cup asparagus (leftover ends from Easter dinner or buy an additional extra)
1 leek thinly sliced in rounds
1 thinly sliced fennel bulb (core removed)
Additional beef broth to thin out the soup (if needed)
2 rosemary springs (if you tie them together, they are easier to remove)
Salt and pepper to taste (I start with 3 tsp salt and 2 tsp pepper to start)
Instructions for stock:
1. Remove meat from the bone and put the bone in a pot
2. Cover the bone with cold water. At the beginning, the water may not cover the bone completely, but as it cooks down, the joints become more pliable, and you can usually push the bones down to get them covered with stock. If a good portion of the bone continues to stick out, you can turn it around so that this portion simmers in the liquid for the last hour or so. Add the garlic, bay leaves, wine (optional), salt and peppercorns. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 hours.
Instructions for soup:
1. Melt butter in a large soup pot (I use a pasta pot)
2. Sauté the raw carrots, celery, mushrooms, asparagus, leek and fennel on medium heat until they start to soften
3. Add the lamb stock and beef broth, if needed to thin out the soup (if you are using cooked vegetables in the soup, they can be added with the stock). Add the rosemary bundle, salt and pepper and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
4. Remove the rosemary, adjust the salt and pepper and serve
Just a note about the wine: I use box wine, not only to cook with, but I also find it to be very pleasant for a glass on the lanai with appetizers or dinner. It lasts for weeks, so you don’t need to worry about it going bad, and the taste is really solid for an everyday wine.
You can add a cup of leftover lamb meat for additional texture and flavor, but the broth gives it a lot of flavor without any added meat. If you prefer a meat-free vegetarian or vegan soup, just use vegetable stock instead of the lamb stock.
Let me know if you have any comments or questions!
