Sides for Leg of Lamb??

[LoN]

I'm doing a leg of lamb for a dinner party in a couple of weeks. The guys lean toward meat and potato types, however I'll have to do a veggie side as well. I seem to always fall back on my roasted baby potatoes which seem sorta ho hum to me.....perhaps a garlic mashed??? or scallops??? I could do sauteed asparagus or roasted veggies, but I am looking for some inspiration!! Was thinking of starting with a herbed goat cheese souffle and fresh spring salad? Any ideas??? TIA.

[cimui]

i like a little bit of bitter (like jungman) and a little bit of sweet with my lamb, as well. roasted turnips or turnips pureed with butter and cream are good accompaniments, IMO.

if you want to jazz up a potato dish, you could do a mash of turnips and potatoes.

roasted, carmelized brussel sprouts would also be good.

very old school and sort of fun to make: minted pea timbales. the taste isn't really for me, personally, but i LOVE making them. it reminds me of shaping mudpies as a kid.

[cassoulady]

I love white beans with lamb. Cooking white beans til they are creamy with thyme and rosemary and olive oil and garlic. It is easy to make and if you puree some of the beans and stir them back into they mixture it takes on a very creamy feel.

[purple goddess]

roast leg of lamb is pretty much the Aussie national dish. I usually do mine with baked pumpkin with carraway OR toasted cumin (which is nice as a mash, too), fresh peas and mint, baked parsnip or carrots and jacket potatoes with garlic butter.

Orange gravy, with mint sauce on the side and voila, a traditional Aussie Sunday roast!!

My own personal fave is to poke holes in the lamb and insert slivers of garlic and anchovy, if it's a boned lamb, I stuff the cavity with fetta and sun dried tomatoes, rub the whole thing down with some OO, or some oil from the anchovies, whack a whole lot of fresh aromatics in a deep baking dish (mint, lemongrass, fennel, 1/4d oranges.. basically what ever is in season), pop the lamb on top of this, add some veggies, (baby chats, capsicum, carrots), a goodly splash of water or white wine, some more OO and cover the whole shebang in foil and roast for about 1.5hrs, uncovering in the last 15-20 mins. There are pics on my blog, if you want some visuals.

[JonParker]

I made a leg of lamb on Friday. For sides I made parmesan-reggiano roasted potatoes, which sounded better than it was, and a brussels sprout and caramelized shallot hash which was so good my girlfriend and I nearly came to blows over who got the last of it. I'll link the recipe below, but I changed it by using sherry vinegar in place of the cider vinegar and adding two slices of crumbled bacon. Even people who hate brussels sprouts would probably like this.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

For potatoes I'd do a mash with roasted garlic and maybe a few drops of black truffle oil.

For roasting the leg of lamb I marinate overnight in a rub of olive oil, lemon, a massive quantity of crushed garlic, thyme, and pepper. I roast at 450 for 20 minutes, turn the heat down to 350 and cook until the internal temp is 135 or so, then let rest for ten minutes. This gives it a beautiful crust that gives way to perfectly pink meat inside.

Definitely try the sprout hash though. It's the best recipe I've made in months.

[anni]

Perhaps not inspirational, but I enjoy very cream mashed potatoes with thyme or rosemary and roasted asparagus or baby carrots with lamb.

When I want a Greek type meal, I serve couscous with spinach, feta, mint, lemon, etc.

[GretchenS]

I served leg of lamb last week with wild rice cooked in chicken broth and combined with sauteed leeks and carrots, and some really good green beans I found, followed by a frisee-radicchio-pear-toasted pecan salad. Nice combo of flavors and colors.

These folks have the best wild rice I've ever eaten: http://www.christmaspoint.com/

[HaagenDazs]

You can do ANYTHING with a leg of lamb, but for winter/fall transition you would be appropriate to keep it hearty. Just looking at this page (on the right) there is a spaghetti squash with Parmagiano. That's easy: http://www.chow.com/recipes/13563

[lexpatti]

This savory Mush and fennel Bread Pudding is fantastic but you could also change it up with flavors in your leg of lamb too (there's even a nice greek style one):
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/kitchen-assistant/savory-bread-puddings-00400000001335/
http://www.chow.com/recipes/11145

another great vegie side and simple/elegant is proschutto wrapped asparagus (roasted with a little olive oil and sprinkle of parm cheese

)

If you want a different scalloped sweet potato w/ a ginger lemon cream sauce - I'll forward that recipe.

[JungMann]

I like biter greens with lamb: escarole with toasted pine nuts and feta, a simple arugula salad with shaved parmesan and walnuts, purslane salad with parsley (althought that's a bit brighter).

I also find that Middle-Eastern flavors go well with lamb, so spice spaghetti squash is always a hit with my lamb or cucumber and feta salad.

[linguafood]

Garlicky pan-fried spinach
Potato gratin
Okra in tomato sauce
Choriatiki
Rice pilav

[grantham]

You have probably decided upon a wine, but I thought I would mention my favorite with lamb is an Australian Shiraz.

[LoN]

THanks for the suggestion....I had not made wine decisions but will definitely try the Shiraz....also have 2 confirmed white wine folks so will have yet another decision to make for them!!

[grantham]

I find pasta puttanesca and ratatouille especially appropriate as sides with lamb, which I happen to be having right this minute for lunch. (rack of lamb, however) The souffle and salad sound tasty also!

[ziggylu]

Leg of lamb in our house is always done greek style...with the same sides: Lemon potatoes, spanokopita and a big greek salad. For a crowd I might add somegreek style stewed green beans. Don't know if this helps you though!