A Lamb Roast Feast

We know how to celebrate in Rappahannock County. Maybe it’s in the air we breathe. Or in the soil that feed us.

We were asked to spit roast a lamb for a large party.

We have a motorized spit that’s perfect for a whole pig roast or lamb roast (or mechoui), and since there are always some guests who don’t eat lamb, it’s a good idea to slow-smoke a few chicken, over cow-boy charcoal with some applewood. For that, we bring our smokers along.

And since this is the end of summer, often associated with harvest & abundance, what better than a few platters of grilled seasonal vegetables, mounds of bi-color green beans with roasted shallots, a huge couscous salad (couscous goes so well with lamb, don’t you think? – I like mine with a twist, though: I put dry cranberries for color, not tomatoes). Tomatoes, of course, we have plenty at this time of the year, and slow roasted (Roma type, please!), they become the base for a rustic looking tomato Tatin bursting with a very intense tomato flavor (for a large party like this, I make a rectangular Tatin, using a large rimmed cookie sheet, making it easier to cut & serve for a crowd). And the (almost) last peaches of the season find their way in a savory spicy dish. Peaches are here for a little longer than usual this year; they also started later than usual with the cool spring we had.

And because it is summer, it’s long week-end, and it’s a feast, guests stroll in. It’s part of the fun, and the conviviality. And the kitchen got to be flexible: you grill a few more veggies, you slice a few more tomatoes, you mix some more couscous.

But I do love those feasts outside. In this case, in a grassy area, between the farm house and the pasture where the sheep are grazing, with view of the Blue Ridge mountains and the sunset to the West.

It’s a whole production – part entertainment too!

First, there is the pit that is set-up the day before.

Then Keith gets a boy from the house to start the fire (under careful supervision, of course!). Yeah! Boys starting the fire using the weed dragon (looks like a miniature flame thrower)… I don’t care what age they are: whether 10, 25 or 50, they all get a huge silly grin on their face when handling that thing: works every time! (we also use it to weed really tough spots at home).

Prepping the lamb: stuffing it with handful of thyme and rosemary, hours before dinner time since it needs to roast slowly and evenly.