If there's anything that says Castilla more than roast lamb, I can't think of what it is. We've had spectacular roast lamb all over central Spain: Madrid, at the famous Restaurante Botín: Segovia, at the restaurant called, simply, Horno de Asar (Roasting Oven) right under the aqueduct; and Burgos, in the Cathedral plaza.
But the most memorable was at a tiny sort of dining hall in the minuscule town of Pedraza, in the province of Segovia. We stayed once for a month in Pedraza, a town that didn't have any restaurants that opened every day. There was a bar that served wine and chorizo and ensaladilla rusa (potato salad) that we spent many days in practicing our Spanish with the town's old men who no longer worked in the fields. Most of our meals other than that came from the one very small grocery store, where we could buy canned tuna and nuts and olives.
But our first Saturday there, we saw a panel truck full of bleating baby lambs being driven into the walled town. When we asked someone what was that all about, she said “They're for Maximo's place. You'll see tomorrow.”
And that's what we did. We were drawn in to Maximo's by the succulent aroma of wood fire and roast baby lamb. That was the day we learned the word lechal, meaning suckling. Those baby lambs had only ever eaten their mother's milk.
Maximo only opened his place on Sundays. He only served one item: cordero asado, i.e. roast lamb, with potatoes and vegetables roasted with the meat, a green salad, a bottle of undistinguished red wine, and an orange for dessert. The whole thing came to 850 pesetas, about $10 at the time, and it was so famously good that dozens of people would drive to Pedraza from Madrid on Sundays just to eat Maximo's lamb.
We were hooked.
Over the years, we've naturally tried to recreate our favorite Spanish dishes at home. Cooking and tasting these traditional foods gives us pleasure. The real joy comes from sharing these foods with family and friends.
And roast lamb, especially, has become our go-to holiday meal when we're at home. We pretty much recreate what we had at Maximo's in 1978 – but we do splurge and upgrade the wine, usually to a good Ribera del Duero or Rioja Reserva.
Below is how we make cordero asado.
For more on our food experiences across Spain, see our Ultimate Guide to Spanish Foods.
Find our gazpacho recipe here.
Cordero Asado: The Spanish Roast Lamb We Make Every Holiday
(Adapted from Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook, by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins)
Ingredients for roast lamb
1 bone-in leg of lamb, around 6 lbs
4-6 cloves of garlic, cut in slivers
juice from 1 lemon
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, or fresh if you can find it
1 1/2 tsp coarse ground pepper
Salt to taste
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C.)
Preparation
Make small slits in the fat around all sides of the leg and insert slivers of the garlic into the slits. Rub the entire leg with the lemon juice and then pat the rosemary and black pepper over the surface.
Place the leg in a roasting pan and place in the preheated oven. Immediately turn the temperature down to 350°F. Roast for 1 1/2 hours for medium rare (about 130-135°F internal temp). Let stand 10 minutes before carving.
Serves 6-8.
We recommend serving with a good Spanish red wine such as a Ribera del Duero Reserva or Rioja Reserva.
