When there is a whole lamb on the Arab table, the occasion is a special one. It is prepared to celebrate the birth of a child, a marriage, the return from a pilgrimage, or the recuperation from illness. For the host, it is an opportunity to honor the guests, showing them how important they are. When I was growing up, my mother always prepared it for the Eid al Adha, the celebration for the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca.
It used to be that only families of little means, who could not afford to buy a whole lamb, stuffed the shoulder, neck, or leg. These days, anyone who is preparing dinner for a small gathering will stuff just the leg, as I do here, with a mix of herbs, garlic, and carrots. I prefer farm-raised fresh lamb for this dish, for its tender, delicate meat. Ask your butcher to butterfly the leg of lamb and to leave the thin membrane on the leg; it retains the meat's juices as it cooks.
To peel garlic, soak as many cloves as you need—or several heads for later use—in a bowl of warm water for 30 to 60 minutes. The peels should then come off effortlessly. If you are not using them immediately, place the peeled cloves in a plastic or glass container with a tight-fitting lid, cover them with a dry paper towel, and close the container tight. The garlic cloves will keep, refrigerated, for up to 10 days.
Rather than using a press, I prefer to pound garlic cloves to a paste with a mortar and pestle. To do this, add a pinch of salt for every 3 cloves and pound until the garlic is smooth and creamy.
