Grilled Leg of Lamb with Roasted Red Onion-Yogurt Sauce

  I love grilled leg of lamb and am always tinkering with ways to cook and serve it. This variation was a big hit and everyone at the dinner table suggested I add the recipe to my blog, so here it is!

Roasted Red Onion-Yogurt Sauce

• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• t tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp each salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 2 sprigs fresh mint

  Preheat oven to 375⁰. Add red onion, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, and olive oil to a baking/roasting pan and mix well. Pan should be large enough that onions are in a single layer, but not spread too thinly. Place in  oven and cook 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.Once at room temperature, add onion mixture and yogurt to a food processor and blend 10 to 20 seconds (there will still be visible pieces of onion. You don't want to blend it to a smooth puree). Remove to a a mixing bowl. Strip mint leaves from sprigs and finely chop the leaves. Add to the yogurt sauce and mix well. Cover and place in refrigerator. The sauce should be at least several hours before the lamb is cooked, or even one day ahead of time.

Grilled Leg of Lamb

• 1 boneless, butterflied Leg of Lamb, 4-5 lbs
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped off
• 3 fresh, peeled cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

  Place rosemary leaves, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper in a small food processor. Blend for 20 to 30 seconds. Place lamb in a nonreactive dish large enough to hold it comfortably. With a small paring knife, make several small slits in the lamb. Massage the rosemary blend into both sides of the lamb, making sure to work some into the slits. Cover the dish and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 6 hours.

 Remove both  the lamb and the yogurt sauce from the refrigerator prior to preparing your grill for cooking the lamb. Whether using charcoal or a gas grill, you want to reach a medium-high heat for grilling. Once your grill has reached optimum temperature, cook the lamb for 8 minutes per side. Keep an eye on it in case you have a flare-up from the olive oil in the marinade. Let the lamb rest for 5 to 10 minutes on a cutting board before slicing Most butterflied lamb legs will have thicker and thinner sections and I find that 8 minutes per side with a lamb in the 4 to 5 pound range typically will provide slices from rare to medium. Serve the lamb with a healthy portion of the yogurt sauce on the side. Along with our lamb and yogurt sauce were flageolet beans, a tomato salad with gorgonzola cheese, and a nice Nero D'Avola Sicilian red wine.Enjoy!
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