Category: Herbs

Herbs used in Italian cuisine

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic

Roast Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic

Posted on by

One of the many traditions in Italy during Easter is serving roasted leg of lamb. This tradition goes back many centuries, even before the first Easter celebration, to the first Passover of the Jewish people. The sacrificial lamb was eaten, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, in hopes that the angel of God would pass over their homes and not harm them. As Hebrews converted to Christianity, they brought along their traditions with them. In Christianity, the lamb is the symbol representing birth and the Shepherd, and Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God.

This is a delicious yet simple recipe using rosemary and garlic. You can either use a bone-in or boneless leg of lamb. While boneless is easier to carve, the bone-in is more flavorful. Either way the meat is very tender. When you remove the lamb from the oven, let it rest for about 15 minutes so that all the juices don’t come running out while you are cutting because that will dry out the meat.

Ingredients       Serves 8

1 6 to 7 lbs leg of lamb, trimmed of excess fat
2 T olive oil
2 T chopped fresh rosemary
lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 c white wine
salt, to taste
fresh rosemary sprigs
fresh parsley

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Place lamb, fat side up, in large roasting pan. and sprinkle with salt.
  3. Mix oil, chopped rosemary, lemon juice and garlic in bowl, then rub all over lamb.
  4. Roast lamb until thermometer inserted into thickest part reaches 130°F for medium-rare, or 20 minutes/pound, basting occasionally with pan juices. Transfer to platter. Cover loosely with foil and let stand for 15 minutes.
  5. Remove some of the fat from the roasting pan with a spoon; add 1/4 cup water to pan and any lamb juices from the platter. Place on top of the stove on medium heat and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits on bottom of pan. Season with salt.
  6. Cut lamb into thin slices on the platter and pour pan juices overt them. Garnish with rosemary sprigs or fresh parsley.

Subscribe to my blog and get more recipes and posts delivered right to your inbox!
 

Shop Bestsellers at Di Bruno Bros

Photo credit above: JeffreyW @Flickr.com

Pesto sauce

Pesto Sauce

Posted on by

I love pesto sauce so much I can eat it on Italian bread as a spread! The scent of basil reminds me of when I was little. My family and I lived in an apartment so we didn’t have a garden, but that didn’t stop my parents from planting herbs and vegetables in buckets and keeping them out on the fire escape during the summer. When they finally bought a house, basil was one of the first things they planted, along with tomatoes of course.

Pesto sauce is made with lots of fresh basil, although I’ve seen recipes substituting some of the basil with spinach and parsley to give it that nice green color. The basil in pesto will actually change to a brownish color after a short time because of oxidation (when certain substances react to being exposed to oxygen), but you can drop the leaves in a pot of boiling water for a few seconds to destroy the enzymes that cause it (read Why does my pesto turn brown?)

It also calls for pignoli, or pine nuts, which can be expensive so I usually leave them out and the sauce still has a wonderful, aromatic flavor.  And for the best flavor, I always use extra virgin olive oil. My favorite unfortunately cannot be bought here because it is made in my father’s town, Selvacava.

I like to use the food processor to mix the ingredients, but traditionally it’s made using a mortar and pestle.

Ingredients

1 clove of garlic
3 T of grated pecorino romano or parmiggiano reggiano
1 T pine nuts
50 leave of basil, rinsed and dried
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
a pinch of salt

  1. in a food processor, add garlic, cheese and pine nuts and mix until it is a paste.
  2. add basil and salt and mix.
  3. slowly add the olive oil.

If you do not use it right away, the oil will separate from the rest of the ingredients so you have to stir it before adding it to anything.

I like to make a lot of pesto and freeze it because I don’t always have the time to prepare it just before I use it.

Join my mailing list to receive more posts like this!

Rosemary

Rosemary – my favorite herb!

Posted on by

(Updated)

Rosemary, or “rosmarinus officinalis”, is one of the most versatile herbs. Not only is it used in cooking, but also in beauty products such as soaps and shampoos, for its health benefits, and even for pest control in gardens.

It has a wonderful aromatic flavor that takes me back to when I was a little girl, in my Nonna’s kitchen in Selvacava, waiting patiently for Sunday dinner to be ready (which was always in the afternoon), that smell of chicken legs cooking in garlic, wine and, of course, rosemary, wafting through the air along with homemade bread baking in the brick oven which was in a hole in the wall.

My Nonno and Nonna

My Nonno and Nonna – my grandfather and grandmother

Rosemary is an evergreen herb that is native to the Mediterranean. It is a member of the mint family. It looks like a small pine tree with silvery green needle-like leaves, and usually has small bluish purple flowers when it blooms.

The Latin name, rosmarinus, means “dew of the sea”. It has been used since ancient times for its medicinal properties such as to alleviate muscle pain and as an anti-inflammatory, in perfumes, and as decorations, and is a good source of calcium, vitamin B6, and iron. Studies have also shown that it can boost the immune system, improve digestion, and even inhibit tumor growth and cancerous cells. In fact, researchers at Sapienza University in Rome studied the population of a small seaside village in Italy, Acciaroli, to determine why so many of them (1 in 10) have lived to be 100 or more years of age. They found that one thing they have in common is their high consumption of rosemary and they believe that plays a big part of it. (http://www.news-medical.net/,  http://www.independent.co.uk/, https://www.nytimes.com/)  The study has shown that the people of Acciaroli have a low level of the hormone adrenomedullin which is causing a widening of blood vessels, therefore improving circulation. (Of course they also take long hikes and live a healthy lifestyle by eating food they’ve grown themselves organically.)

I just love the way it tastes. I have been known to eat sprigs of rosemary that were cooked in my dish. My husband and son on the other hand complain that I put too much in my cooking. It does have a strong taste and should be used sparingly. It goes well with chicken dishes, potatoes, and in tomato sauce.

Subscribe to my blog and get more recipes and posts delivered right to your inbox!


Find hotels cheap in Las Vegas with HotelsCombined.com