Lamb Roast with Blackberry Sauce

What better way to bring the family together than over a big roast? Putting a roast in the oven along with some veggies and making a simple salad leaves a lot more time to chill with your peeps. And after a long day of shopping at the Ferry Building Farmers Market, lunching at Samovar, and scoping Frida Kahlo at SFMOMA I really wanted to keep it simple, but tasty!

serves 12
Ingredients:

7 lbs. leg of lamb, boned and trussed
3 sprigs rosemary
12 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil, separated
2 pints blackberries
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup mint, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
1 lb. torpedo onions, halved (shallots work fine too)
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 350.
Make 12 small slits throughout the lamb and stuff each with a garlic clove. Rub lamb with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper. Tuck rosemary sprigs under the trussing on the top of the lamb. Add remaining one tablespoon olive oil to onion halves, season with salt and pepper, toss, and arrange on the bottom of the roasting dish. Place lamb on a rack in a roasting dish and cook about 1 1/2-2 hours depending on your oven. Lamb roast cooks at about 12 minutes per pound, but every oven is different. Cook 145 for rare, 155 for medium, and 165 for well done. Lamb has about a 10 minute carry over cooking time, so take it out about 10 degrees before desired temperature and let rest 10 minutes before carving so all those yummy juices don't run away!


While lamb is roasting away, heat a medium skillet to low and add 2 pints of blackberries. They will quickly begin to yield juice. Add balsamic vinegar and reduce further. Add mint and begin by adding 1/4 cup sugar. Add more as needed depending on the tartness of the blackberries. Reduce to a thin sauce consistency. Season with salt and pepper. You can strain it if you don't want the blackberry seeds, but a roast is so rustic as it is, I prefer not to strain this sauce.


Pour blackberry sauce over sliced lamb and serve with shallots, and other roasted root veggies if you like. Beets and carrots go lovely with lamb roast.