Yogurt-Marinated Leg of Lamb With Cardamom and Orange

• 1 5-to-7-pound leg of lamb, preferably at room temperature, shank removed if necessary
• 1/2 cup whole-milk yogurt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint, plus more for garnish
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees .
2. Remove as much of the surface fat as is practical from the lamb.
3. Mix together the yogurt, mint, orange zest, cardamom, salt and pepper; rub the meat all over with the yogurt mixture.
4. If you have time, let the lamb sit for an hour or more (refrigerate if it will be much longer).
5. Put the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan.
6. (You might line the pan first with aluminum foil to make cleanup easier.)
7. Roast for 30 minutes, then check; if the lamb threatens to burn, turn the heat down to 350 degrees ; otherwise leave it at 425 degrees .
8. After about 1 hour (total) of roasting, check the internal temperature of the lamb with an instant-read thermometer.
9. Continue to check every 10 minutes; when it reaches 130 for medium rare (125 for very rare) in its thickest part (check it in several places), its done.
10. Total cooking time will be less than 1 1/2 hours.
11. Let it rest for a few minutes before carving.
12. Serve garnished with more chopped mint.

lamb, wholemilk yogurt, fresh mint, orange zest, ground cardamom, salt, freshly ground black pepper

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017285 (may not work)