Inaugural Lamb and Fig Supper Club

I became a fan of lamb after judging the Lamb Jam in May.  Now I am the DC Lamb Ambassador and Supper Club host for the Tri-Lamb Group supper club series.   

When I was at a Fig Dinner a couple weeks ago, I mentioned that I was going to be hosting a series of Lamb suppers and asked them if they'd like to participate. Sure enough, they were on board and contributed the most beautiful fig selection for our feast.  For the first dinner, I cooked a boneless leg of lamb.  

When the lamb arrived, I butterflied it and placed it in the honey ginger marinade overnight (recipe below).  To cook the lamb, I seared it on the stove-top in my grill pan first and then roasted it in the oven.  The results:  a tangy and delicious leg of lamb to be enjoyed by my 12 supper club guests  of friends and fellow foodies including:  Mary from Girl Meets Food, Johnna from Johnna Knows Good Food and Brittany from Three Lockharts.   

We served the lamb with my Calimyrna Fig Sangria, Calimyrna Fig and Cantaloupe Salad with Fig Balsamic, Black Mission and Kadota Figs Roasted with Goat Cheese, and Fig Compote on top vanilla ice cream for dessert.  (Recipes will be coming soon.)

Fig and Cantaloupe Salad

Figs Roasted with Goat Cheese and Balsamic

Katie's Avocado Crostini

Sarah's Quinoa Salad

Brittany's Tomato Salad

My Fig Sangria

My Fig Compote over Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Johnna brought cake pops from Whisked!

We celebrated Johnna's birthday.

Roasted Honey Ginger Butterflied Leg of Lamb

1/3 cup Low-Sodium Soy Sauce or Tamari

¼ cup Honey

2 teaspoons ground ginger

3 to 4 Red Anaheim Chilies, thinly sliced (ribs and seeds

removed for less heat)

1 (5 to 7 pound) boneless butterflied leg of lamb

Canola oil

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 bunches, green onions

Salt and pepper

Whisk soy sauce, honey, ground ginger and chilies in small bowl, transfer to large plastic zip top bag. Add lamb, close bad and rub marinade into lamb. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but up to 8 or even overnight if time allows.  

Remove lamb from marinade and set on tray. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat large oven-safe grill pan over medium-high heat, brush with vegetable oil. Place leg of lamb in skillet and cook until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Place skillet in oven and roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the leg reaches 145 degrees for medium-rare or 160 degrees for medium, depending on desired doneness, about 20 to 30 minutes.  Check at 20 to make sure you don't over cook.

The Tri-Lamb Group is a collaborative initiative of lamb producer organizations from the U.S., New Zealand and Australia which focuses on educating Americans about lamb.  This year, the supper club series will take place in three cities—Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Boston.  I will host a series of three Lamb Super Clubs within the next eight months and tell you all about the experiences.  Round 1 with Leg was a huge success!

All photos by Lauren DeSantis