Leg of lamb the easy way

If you’d like to make leg of lamb the centerpiece of an Easter menu or casual springtime open house, one option to consider is takeout. We ordered roasted legs of lamb from restaurants and delis around town, looking for well-prepared, thoughtfully packaged offerings, and tasted them in the Los Angeles Times test kitchen. Some come with extras, such as a sauce or roasted or sauteed potatoes. Our selections come from a high-end Westside restaurant, a catering shop, an Indian restaurant and a deli.

Order immediately for pickup this weekend. Reheat a whole leg of lamb by placing it in a roasting pan in a 350-degree oven for about half an hour, or until heated through.

The favorite: This handsome, bone-in leg of lamb from Josie Restaurant in Santa Monica was the clear winner. While herbs and garlic flavor the meat beautifully, they don’t overpower; the wonderful flavor of best-quality lamb is the star. The leg is marinated with herbs and olive oil, flavored with garlic cloves inserted deep into the meat and rubbed with cracked pepper and salt. Fresh rosemary branches are tied into place over the whole roast. The range of doneness, from medium-rare in the center to medium-well at the narrow end, will ensure that there’s something for every guest. Also available boneless, it’s packaged with instructions for reheating. It also comes with drippings and roasted garlic heads.

Rosemary-garlic leg of lamb: $95 (serves 8) with Burgundy sauce ($24 per quart) at Josie Restaurant, 2424 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 581-9888. 48 hours’ notice; pickup after 2 p.m. through Saturday.

Herb-filled: Our second choice comes from the other side of the city at the Kitchen for Exploring Foods in Pasadena. This boneless rolled roast is filled with a bright combination of mint, sage, parsley and rosemary that imparts a fresh herb flavor to the meat, with garlic added if desired. The presentation is attractive: pink slices of meat and vivid green filling. Orders come with fresh mint relish and pomegranate wine sauce.

Boneless rolled leg of lamb: $16 a pound (with sauce and relish) at the Kitchen for Exploring Foods, 1434 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. (626) 793-7234. 48 hours’ notice; pickup from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Saturday.

Tandoori spice: We couldn’t resist trying an Indian tandoori leg of lamb, and Brentwood’s Clay Pit makes a very good version. The highly spiced lamb comes with tumeric-tinted potatoes. (If you’d like it less spicy, just let the restaurant know when you order it. The one we tried, medium, was very spicy.) The boned, butterflied leg (about 8 pounds) is marinated with rosemary as well as ginger, garlic, chiles, garam masala and cumin. For takeout, it is sliced and packed with the potatoes on the side and rosemary sprigs over the top. Reheat this one, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes.

Tandoori leg of lamb: $60 (includes potatoes; serves 14) at the Clay Pit, 145 S. Barrington Ave., Brentwood, (310) 476-4700. 24 hours’ notice; pickup from 11:30 a.m. daily including Easter Sunday.

Greek style: Papa Cristo’s popular roast leg of lamb is a well-done classic. The meat is very flavorful, marinated with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, onion and Greek seasonings; it comes with potatoes. Papa Cristo’s will be open Easter Sunday, but since Greek Orthodox Easter also falls on Sunday, expect a wait if you opt to pick up your order then.

Greek style leg of lamb: $29.95 (includes potatoes; serves 5) at Papa Cristo’s, 2771 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 737-2970. 48 hours’ notice; pickup daily from 9 a.m. including Easter Sunday.