Narsai David: California Spring Lamb

BERKELEY (KCBS) - There are so many things you can do with lamb in the spring. Even leg of lamb can be easier to cook than most people realize.

Don't assume making a leg of lamb means taking that whole thing in the oven to roast. That can get tricky since the large end can be kept nice and rare, but the small end where the shank is will inevitably come out more well done.

Instead, ask the butcher to remove the bone and butterfly the lamb to barbeque. Since the whole thing roasts at one time, serve the more well done parts to some and the more rare parts to others.

If you're not serving many people, consider buying just the top round of lamb. More and more stores are carrying just that one single muscle, which typically weighs a pound to 1½ pounds. Then when you roast it, every single slice is perfectly uniform, all the same color pink exactly as you like it. Boy, is that ever neat.

Finally, I've got to tell you about someone I once knew whose favorite thing to do with leg of lamb was to serve it like a steak.

He would have the butcher cut a one-inch thick steak off the leg. Next he would rub plenty of Worcestershire sauce on both sides, let it sit for a couple of hours, then grill.

Serving up leg of lamb with a knife and fork is a beautiful treat, just one of the many delicious things you can do with California spring lamb - which is right now coming on the market.

Narsai David is the KCBS Food and Wine Editor. He has been a successful restaurateur, chef, TV host, and columnist in the Bay Area spanning four decades. You can hear him Saturdays at 10:53 a.m., 12:53 p.m. and 4:53 p.m., and at 2:53 a.m. Sunday on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

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