Mario Batali Makes Grilled Leg of Lamb With Mint Pesto For Easter
Posted on March 23, 2013
Chef Mario Batali prepared the dish his family is having for Easter this year: Grilled, butterflied leg of lamb with pesto and potatoes. Mario says to ask the butcher for spring lamb, which is up to ten months. Have the butcher butterfly it in half. He covers the lamb with salt, olive oil, rosemary and garlic the day before cooking. The mixture acts like a a dry brine.
Batali then places the lamb skin side down on the grill and shuts the lid to create convection heat. He takes small potatoes and braises them with garlic, scallions and a sweet wine, such as vin santo or sherry.
The sauce is a pasto made with basil, parmesan, mint, pine nuts, salt, pepper and garlic. He allows the grilled lamb to rest. He cuts it into three pieces, across the grain. He takes the potatoes and asparagus mixture and puts it on the plate, with the lamb on top. He then covers the dish with pesto, pan juices and a bit of olive oil. Mario says the dish can be prepared for around $5 a person, because you are cooking food that is in season.
You can find Mario's recipe for Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Mint Pesto here.
Batali has another pesto recipe in a Chicago Tribune story.
A slightly different recipe for Leg of Lamb in a Clementine Crust from Batali can be found on Parenting.