I have a friend who was born and raised in Bessarabia. He loves it like his own mother, and carries this land in his heart through life. He considers it important for a meal to taste well, and he himself cooks really good. As a child, he grazed sheep, and when he grew up, he began to photograph them, and became famous as Bessarabian ethno-photographer. In his village, people have long believed that the meat of black sheep is tastier, because they get more sun 🙂 I suggest you check this theory. You can cook two legs – from a white and a black lamb, invite friends and look for the difference in taste together, why not?
I have a friend who was born and raised in Bessarabia. He loves it like his own mother, and carries this land in his heart through life. He considers it important for a meal to taste well, and he himself cooks really good. As a child, he grazed sheep, and when he grew up, he began to photograph them, and became famous as Bessarabian ethno-photographer. In his village, people have long believed that the meat of black sheep is tastier, because they get more sun 🙂 I suggest you check this theory. You can cook two legs – from a white and a black lamb, invite friends and look for the difference in taste together, why not?- Prep time: 15 minutes + 10-15 hours’ marinating
- Cook time: 2 hours
- Serves: 4-6
- Difficulty: easy
- Course: main dish
- Cookware: knife
- Cuisine: Odessa
Ingredients
- 1 bone-in leg of lamb, about 1½ kg
- 2 heads of garlic, regular or smoked
- 150 ml olive oil
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- pepper mixture, freshly ground
- sea salt
Cooking method
Step 1
Peel the garlic. Remove the rosemary leaves from the stem. Make cuts in the meat and stuff with garlic and rosemary leaves. Then rub the lamb with salt, a mixture of peppers, and olive oil. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 10-15 hours.
Step 2
Heat oven to 160˚C. Cover the lamb with foil and bake in the oven. After 2 hours, raise the oven temperature to 180˚C. Remove the foil and leave the meat in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes, until it becomes golden brown. Cut the meat from the bone and serve.
My tips and tricks:
Never wash meat before you start cooking. Instead, wipe it off with a kitchen paper. Water cannot remove all bacteria from meat; they die during cooking at high temperatures. At the same time, a crust forms more slowly on wet meat and you will not get the right taste and aroma in the dish.
Konstantin Vidoborenko’s wine recommendations:
For black lamb, take a bottle of wine from Aliberne grapes, or its second name, “Odessa Black”, will sound more familiar. Dark ruby, with aromas of prunes, black berries, and spices will make an excellent pair for lamb. The variety was created by Ukrainian breeders and is especially loved by the locals in Odessa region. They have lived their whole lives like locavorers and they know for sure that black rams are tastier 🙂
- 1 bone-in leg of lamb, about 1½ kg
- 2 heads of garlic, regular or smoked
- 150 ml olive oil
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- pepper mixture, freshly ground
- sea salt
- Peel the garlic. Remove the rosemary leaves from the stem. Make cuts in the meat and stuff with garlic and rosemary leaves. Then rub the lamb with salt, a mixture of peppers, and olive oil. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 10-15 hours.
- Heat oven to 160˚C. Cover the lamb with foil and bake in the oven. After 2 hours, raise the oven temperature to 180˚C. Remove the foil and leave the meat in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes, until it becomes golden brown. Cut the meat from the bone and serve.