Veteran American newsman and politician Pierre Salinger shares his simple recipe for lamb. Here he cooks leg and shoulder of lamb with some potatoes, garlic, onions, and olive oil. This lamb recipe allows you to truly appreciate the smoky and juicy flavors of the lamb without any herb or rich sauce to interfere with and overwhelm the natural taste of lamb meat. The potatoes soak up the juice from the lamb and taste oh-so-delicious.
Because it is so simple and easy to make, you can prepare a large batch of this lamb recipe to serve a room full of hungry guests as Mr. Salinger does here. For this, you need superior quality lamb meat that can stand on its own without additional flavorings.
Pierre Salinger humorously mentions that he learned to make this dish all by himself because his first wife couldn’t cook. Notorious for his numerous affairs and strings of lovers, he revealed in a 1995 Booknotes interview that from the early 50s until 1983, he had scores of mistresses and that while campaigning for United States Senator in 1964, made love with the wife of a famous American actor. He also quipped that President Kennedy encouraged him to take on a lover while in the White House. About France, he said that it is “a country where the majority of men have mistresses, I happily embraced the French mentality.”
Known to be a jolly fellow to his friends, this lamb dish reflects the good-natured cheeriness of Pierre Salinger. It is also interesting to note that the term “Pierre Salinger Syndrome” refers to the tendency of assuming that the information published in the internet is automatically true.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into large cubes with skin still on. Place potatoes in a large casserole or baking dish.
Prepare the leg and shoulder of lamb by inserting garlic cloves under the skin. Cut 3 garlic cloves in half and insert them under the lamb leg's skin (put them in three different places).
Place the lamb in the baking dish on top of the bed of potatoes. Pour some olive oil to cover the lamb. Place chopped onions on top.
Cook in a 356 degree F. oven for 30 to 40 minutes, depending upon preference. Turn the lamb legs from time to time and sprinkle with water.