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Moroccan Spiced Boneless Leg of Lamb with Hasselback Potatoes

A richly flavoured, juicy lamb roast doesn't need to take hours. Follow this recipe for a spiced roast lamb and harissa laced hasselback mini potatoes, all served up with a vibrant green and lemony Moroccan Chermoula Sauce.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Moroccan
Keyword baharat, chermoula sauce, harissa, hasselback potatoes, lamb roast, potatoes,moroccan,harissa,butter,garlic,ras el hanout
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Moroccan Spiced Boneless Leg of Lamb

  • 2 1/2-3 lb boneless leg of lamb or larger see Notes
  • 1 large yellow onion trimmed and papery peel removed
  • 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 5 large garlic cloves cut into slivers
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
  • 1 1/2 tsp Ras el Hanout or Baharat see Notes
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Harissa Hasselback Potatoes

  • 2 lb mini yellow potatoes or 1 kg (about 4-5 potatoes per person)
  • 2 tbsp Butter melted
  • 1 tsp Onion Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Harissa powder
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 3/4 tsp Salt or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Chermoula Sauce

  • 1 bunch of parsley or cilantro or a combo of them both You can even add in some fresh mint if you have it
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 small red chilli pepper deveined and seeded, chopped
  • 1 tbsp worth of preserved lemon chopped (alternatively you can use fresh lemon juice)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

Moroccan Spiced Boneless Leg of Lamb Roast

  1. Preheat oven to 425F

  2. Slice the large yellow onion into four slices and arrange in a medium sized baking pan. Lay the fresh rosemary sprigs on the onion slices.

  3. Place the boneless leg of lamb roast on a cutting board, ensuring that it is tied off and patted dry. Use a sharp knife to make slits around the outside of the roast.
  4. Slice the garlic cloves into slivers and push these into the slits. If you have more slits than garlic, just slice up another garlic!

  5. Rub the roast with the oil all around. Combine the chopped rosemary, ras el hanout or baharat, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Use your fingers to pat this mixture all over the roast. Place the roast on the onions, and place the pan on the centre rack.

  6. Roast, uncovered, until you have reached the desired temperature. Remember, the temperature of the meat will go 5-10 degrees higher as it rests.
  7. For 2-3 lb roast, check after 35 minutes. This will let you know how the oven and the roast are getting along, and how much time to allot for it to finish. Usually 45 minutes is good for this sized roast, unless you want it to be medium well.
  8. Remove the roast from the oven and let rest uncovered for 15 minutes, to let the juices settle back in evenly.
  9. Remove the strings with a sharp knife and slice into 1/4 inch slices against the grain. Don't slice it any thicker than this. Serve warm, but will even taste fine at room temperature.
  10. Serve with Chermoula Sauce and Hasselback Potatoes

Harissa Hasselback Potatoes

  1. Make very thin slices (1/16" - 1/8") along your baby potatoes, ensuring you don't go all the way down. A sharp knife and a steady hand are all you need. Place them into a large bowl.
  2. In a small pot melt the butter. Once melted, add the onion powder, harissa powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper and mix well to combine. Pour this over the potatoes and toss well to combine and coat well.
  3. Spread potatoes out on a baking sheet with low edges for best crunch factor. Add a 1- 1 1/2 tbsp of oil to the bowl and use a brush to capture any leftover seasonings. Brush onto the tops of your potatoes with this oil.
  4. Add the potatoes to the lamb in the oven, about 30 minutes before the lamb is ready to come out. Bake until golden and crispy, at about the same time as the lamb should be done. Timing will depend of course, on size of potatoes, so it could take less or more time. If needed, leave them in the oven while the lamb is removed and resting, or vice versa.

Chermoula Sauce

  1. You can do this by hand, or use a food processor.
  2. Chop the greens finely.
  3. Mince the garlic finely
  4. Mince the red chilli pepper

  5. Chop the preserved lemon finely (if using fresh lemon juice, you may need to adjust amount as well as the salt)

  6. Combine all the ingredients to create a paste. Add more oil if you want it to be more of a dipping sauce, and less olive oil if you want a thicker marinade. Taste and re-season as desired.
  7. This can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before using, to help the oil liquify again.

Recipe Notes

For lamb roasting times:
Medium Rare: 130 - 135F temperature; about 16 minutes/lb.
Medium Well: 140 - 145F temperature; about 18 minutes/lb.
For a 4-5 lb roast, check internal temperature after 1 hour and take if from there.

Feel free to mix up the flavours for the potatoes to suit your meal. Fresh chopped rosemary and thyme, chilli powder, etc are all good on these potatoes. Whatever your tastebuds are craving.

For great sources for Ras el hanout and Baharat, which are North African Spice blends, check online, such as here. 

See here for a great Preserved Lemon recipe

I confirmed my roasting times thanks to Olena Osipov's perfect recipe at ifoodreal.