Roasted Leg of Lamb

Trim excess fat from lamb; truss and tie to maintain a uniform shape. With a sharp knife, make 1-inch deep slits all over the lamb. Salt and pepper the lamb liberally on all sides. Set aside.

Blanche the orange zest in boiling water for three minutes.

In the bowl of a food processor, add the orange zest, garlic, anchovies, basil leaves, olive oil, lemon juice, and black pepper. Process into a paste, but not quite a puree.

With a teaspoon, push a small amount of the paste into each of the slits you made on the lamb. If there is any paste left, just slather it all over the outside of the roast.

Marinate the lamb covered in the refrigerator overnite.

The next day, remove the lamb from the refrigerator and place it in a roasting pan. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the lamb in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. At the 20 minute mark, remove the lamb and pour 1 cup of wine over the lamb and return the lamb to the oven. Roast for 20 minutes more and then remove from the oven once again. Baste the lamb with the pan juices and then add 1 cup of olives to the pan juices.

Return the lamb to the oven and continue roasting--basting every 20 minutes--until the internal temperature of the lamb reaches 135-140 degrees (medium rare). (Depending on your oven, it will take 20-25 min. per pound to cook to this temperature.)

Remove the lamb from the oven. Take the lamb out of the roasting pan, put it on a platter and tent it with aluminum foil.

To make the sauce, place the roasting pan (with the juices from the lamb and the olives) over low-medium heat. (If the lamb did not exude alot of juice, you may want to add 1 cup of chicken stock to the remaining juices.) When the juices begin to simmer, add 1 Tbs. tomato paste to the pan and swirl to combine. Let the juices reduce slightly and then transfer to a serving bowl.

Slice the lamb and serve with the sauce on the side.