Grilled Leg of Lamb

I know, I advertise myself as a pescetarian. So why is there a recipe for grilled lamb here? Well, we had a dinner party and the theme was spring and you can't get anymore "spring-y" than a leg of lamb. Plus, these guests were carnivores. A spring vegetable risotto was also served for those who wanted to avoid meat.

We remembered an old recipe that we used to make back when we ate meat. It was from the Los Angeles Times and I recalled many of the ingredients. But we culled all the meat recipes from our notebooks long ago. So I did some research online and found this recipe that approximates what I remembered.

The recipe (and the photo) come from the Cooking San Francisco food blog (and they acknowledge that the recipe originally comes from The New Basics Cookbook). It's easy to make and quite tasty (if you eat meat). And, yes, I did eat the lamb that night.

Marinated Grilled Leg of Lamb

• 1 4-5 lb. boneless leg of lamb (ask the butcher to butterfly it so that it can lay flat)
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 4 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 cup mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons rosemary leaves, slightly bruised
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the wine, soy sauce, garlic, mint, rosemary, and pepper in a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Mix well. Place the lamb in the dish turning it over a few times so that the marinade covers all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours (I did it overnight). Turn the lamb frequently.
2. Remove the lamb from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour before grilling. Prepare grill on high heat.
3. Remove lamb from dish and let the excess liquid drain off. Keep the marinade.
4. Grill lamb over medium high heat (around 450 degrees). Baste frequently with the marinade. The internal temperature of the lamb should be 145 degrees for medium-rare.
5. Cut the lamb into very thin slices and serve.