This recipe is prepared with a 2 lb boneless shoulder roast lamb seasoned with Art of Tea’s organic certified, caffeine free blend called Pacific Coast Mint.

The Marinade

You Will Need:

-3 cups of strong tea made from Art of Tea’s Pacific Coast Mint

-2 tsps minced garlic

-4 tsps minced basil

-½ tsp chili pepper flakes

-½ tsp salt

-Dash of black pepper

-1 tsp cornstarch

-8 stems of fresh tarragon

Instructions:

Boil the water and pour over 4 teaspoons of Art of Tea’s Pacific Coast Mint. Let sit for an hour. Add some of the tea to the cornstarch to make a syrupy liquid. After an hour, add the rest of the marinade ingredients. Bring to a slow boil. Mix in the cornstarch stirring constantly. Continue cooking until the tea thickens a little. Then, let cool.

Meanwhile, rinse the lamb. Wipe, dry and place in a roasting pan. When the marinade is cool, pour it all over and if rolled, into the center of the lamb. Refrigerate lamb overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours.

When ready to cook, take the lamb out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Slice a bulb of fennel crosswise ¼ inch thick. Slice a large Italian eggplant crosswise ¾ inch thick. If the eggplant is seedy, add salt and let sit for 5 minutes. Rinse to remove bitterness.

Preheat the oven to 375⁰

Pour the marinade at the bottom of the pan into a pot and boil. Strain through a sieve and cool. When cool, pour the marinade over the fennel and eggplant that you put into a large flat bowl or side dish.

This process results in a medium to well done roasted lamb.

Put a rack in the roasting pan and add 4 stems of tarragon. Then, carefully place the lamb on top.  Place 4 stems of tarragon on top of the lamb and place in the oven.  Roast for 10 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 350⁰ and roast for 35 more minutes.  Lift the roast off the rack and place on a dish.  Put the fennel on the rack and then the eggplant. Turn the roast over and place on top of eggplant.  Cook for another 30 minutes. Take the roast out of the oven and check the color of the lamb meat by making a small slit in the thickest part of the roast with a sharp knife to see the color of the meat. It should be pink for medium or brown for well done. Lift it off the rack and check the vegetables for doneness.  Remove the eggplant and fennel if tender.

If the inside of the lamb is not cooking, you may want to flatten it out at this point. Replace the lamb and cook for another 15-30 minutes.  If you left the vegetables in, cook for a short time, check everything and remove or cook longer to your preferred roast.

-KATHY ROSENBLATT