This Sunday throughout the world, many people will gather with family and friends after church for brunch, lunch or dinner to celebrate Easter. Without getting into specifics about religion, all three major mainstream religions – Christianity, Islam and Judaism – consider lamb to be the Holy Meat.

In Islam as well as Judaism, very specific laws govern the slaughtering of animals and they are very similar. Thus, a person who is Jewish and keeps a Kosher kitchen or a Muslim who eats only Halaal meat can eat each other’s meats. In brief, Muslims are required to eat Halaal meats, which means that the animals are slaughtered mercifully.

Instead of an animal being herded through a conveyor belt  like at big commercial farms, a butcher is required to say specific prayers over it before is slaughtered and to slit the animal’s throat quickly from ear to ear, releasing the blood before it is cured. This is to make sure the animal feels the least amount of pain when it is killed. Muslims are also forbidden to drink the blood of any animal. The meat also tastes much better.

Judaism follows similar traditions in the slaughtering of animals and many only eat certified Kosher meats. For Christians, many people offer the choice of lamb or ham for the Easter dinner, the latter of which I personally will never touch because we don’t eat pork.

In our house, lamb is always considered a real treat, especially since getting a good cut of the meat requires a trip to the butcher, and it’s very expensive.

My mother celebrates Easter and we’ll prepare a feast for her. Since she is close to 80 years old, I usually give in to most of her requests as long as they don’t go against my dietary principles, like pork does. So she wants lamb, which is easy enough and will please almost all of my children. My mate, however, won’t touch it so he will get salmon.

Boneless leg of lamb with rosemary sauce and roasted vegetables

Preheat oven to 475 degrees

1 boneless leg of lamb (3-5 lbs), butterflied by the butcher

• One head of fresh garlic, washed and peeled
• 8-12 red small potatoes, washed and skinned
• 1 lb baby carrots
• 3 red onions, skinned and quartered
• 2 yellow peppers, seeded and cut into 8ths
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, one diced, the other 2 whole
• 3 tsp virgin olive oil
• Butchers string

Directions

- Have the butcher de-bone the lamb, roll it and secure it with a string

- At home, unroll the lamb out flat and discard the string

- Rinse and pat dry with a tea towel

- Place 3-5 cloves of garlic on the lamb, and sprinkle with other seasonings

- Roll it tightly and secure with fresh string and season the other side. You can also stuff it with bread stuffng or herbs before you roll it.

- Rub the outside with olive oil

- Place on a roasting rack with a pan underneath  to catch the drippings

- Brown the outside of the lamb, turning on all sides (for about 15 minutes)

- Set drippings aside and place lamb in roasting pan

- Turn oven down to 325,  and surround the lamb with all of the vegetables and drippings and cover with foil

- Bake for 20-30 minutes per pound (depending on whether you like it rare or well done)

- Baste the lamb with the drippings throughout roasting to keep it moist

- Make sure all of the veggies are soft

- When lamb is cooked almost to your liking, remove it from the oven and let it rest

***Always take meat from the oven a little bit before it’s done,  because it will continue cooking after you’ve removed it.

Serve with fresh steamed asparagus and rice or with couscous and salad

Related posts:

1. There’s nothing like a good neighbor
2. The Beet goes on