Spiced Rib Roast

DIRECTIONS

1. Ideally, start this recipe at least 24 hours (up to 4 days) before you plan to cook the roast.

2. OPTIONAL: Place the roast on a cutting board, bone side up. Using a large knife, crack through the rubbery seams between each vertebrae so you can slice through the cooked roast. To do this, ease the blade into the joint and then tap it with your the butt of your hand (or a rubber mallet or hammer wrapped in a towel) until it just goes through the joint. The blade should only go about 1 inch deep, being careful to avoid cutting too far into the meat.

3. Turn over the roast and bone the loin: start near the thinnest section of the meat/fat and the end of the rib bones. Using a boning knife or pairing knife, make small slices along the ribs to separate the loin from the ribs, until you reach the base of the ribs, where the ribs meat the vertebrae. Be sure to keep the loin attached to the vertebrae so you can open and close the roast like a book.

4. Season the entire roast (including the area between the loin and the ribs) with the salt.

5. Chop the garlic and then crush in a mortar (or put through a garlic press). Rub the garlic in the area between the loin and ribs.

6. Slightly crush the cumin and coriander seeds in a mortar or food processor. Scatter the crushed spices all over the roast.

7. Truss the roast, tying a string around the roast between every two ribs. Cover loosely and refrigerate for at least 18 hours (up to 4 days).

8. Take the roast out of the fridge 3 hours before you start cooking it. Stand the roast in the middle of a shallow roasting pan or small baking sheet.

9. Preheat the oven to 400F.

10. Place in the center of the oven. Cook for 1.5 to 2 hours for a 4 pound roast until the internal temperature is 145F for a cooked through, but slightly rosy colored roast (the temperature will continue to rise above 160F after it comes out of the oven). Start checking the temperature at 70 minutes.

11. Let the roast rest for 20 minutes on a platter, tented loosely with foil. Then slice between the ribs to carve.

12. Enjoy!