Cordero de albahaca y patatas hervidas (grilled basil lamb & boiled potatoes)

One of most widely used herbs in Puerto Rico is albahaca, or basil.  Growing up my grandma would grow basil in her small kitchen garden, and she would use every part of the plant including the flowers, which she dried for tea.  When I finally learned how to cook in my early 30s, it was through Italian food (yeah, I am not kidding) and I was pleasantly surprised to see how much Italians love basil.  Fast forward eight years later, and here I am still loving basil as much as I did growing up. 

The recipe I am featuring today was originally for beef, but truth be told, I love lamb more than I love beef.  If it wasn't for the exhorbitant prices that you have to pay for lamb, I would probably eat it every chance I get.  But back to the recipe... most of the recipes I fall in love with are purely accidental.  In this case was the substitution of lamb for beef.  The first time I tried this combination of flavors I was not sure if it would work because lamb has such a strong taste, but still I decided to go ahead with it. 

To prepare the lamb, I first roasted the lamb.  But what makes the meat is the marinade, which is very simple.  Just combine about 1 cup of olive oil, then add 1-2 handfuls of basil, the zest and juices of 2 lemons, and salt and pepper to taste.  When the meat is done, just thinly slice it and put in a casserole dish or bowl and pour the marinade over it ensuring every pieces of meat is covered.  Then put in the refrigerator to let all the flavors get into the meat; the longer you leave it in the refrigerator, the more the flavors will combine. 


I like to serve this with a side of boiled potatoes because the flavors really do not compete with the flavors of the meat.  Just boil the potatoes (I love red new potatoes) an when done just drizzle a bit of olive oil and just add some salt and pepper to taste.  You will find that lamb can be rather heavy but this marinade makes it taste very light...very lemony.  Which is why the boiled potatoes just go so perfect.  Since I am nuts about basil, I like to add a few ribbons as a garnish to keep it fresh.  I like this dish as dinner but really prefer it as a lunch.  You do not need to eat tons of it so you will not get the 1:00 PM after-lunch sleepy comma you would normally get.   :-)  I really hope you give it a try because I think you will love it.  Buen apetito!

 I am linking to the Heart and Soul Blog Hop