Roast Leg of Lamb

makes about 10-12 servings

1 leg of lamb (about 6 pounds)
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 cup lemon juice
Garnish: fresh rosemary, lemons, oregano

Trim any extra fat from the meat. Peel the garlic and sliver it. Insert several garlic slivers in the natural seams of the meat and make additional incisions and insert more garlic. Mix together the salt, pepper, and oregano, and poke half of the mixture into the slits. Rub the remaining salt mixture over the outside of the meat. Insert the meat thermometer in the thickest part of the roast.

Place on a rack in a roasting pan and pour 1/2 cup hot water into the bottom of the pan. Place in a 400F oven and roast for 40 minutes, or until the meat is well browned. Reduce the temperature to 325F and roast 1 to 1 1/2 hours longer, or until the thermometer registers 160F for medium rare meat. Remove from the oven. Pour lemon juice over the meat, cover pan, and let stand 10 minutes. Remove meat to a platter and keep warm. Skim fat from the pan juices and pour one cup water into the pan; stirring, bring to a boil, scraping up drippings. Pour into a sauce bowl. Garnish the meat platter with a wreath of rosemary and lemons, cut zigzag style and sprinkle their center with oregano. Carve the meat and spoon the juices over each serving.