Sweet, spicy and deeply savoury- Rachel Green’s tasty lamb is a real winner’s dinner for St. David’s Day. This recipe abounds with flavour and suits a group gathering a treat. If you’re not the most confident when it comes to preparing meat, ask your friendly butcher to bone and butterfly the leg of lamb for you.
Serves 6
Preparation time: 40 minutes (plus overnight marinade)
Cooking time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Ingredients:
For the leg of Lamb:
1.13 kg boneless leg of lamb, butterflied
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp rosemary leaves
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp small mint leaves (or torn larger leaves)
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
½ lemon, juiced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the chorizo stuffing:
150g breadcrumbs
4 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 sprig rosemary
1/2 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
8 shallots, peeled and diced
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tsp thyme leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g fresh Mexican chorizo, skinned and chopped into small chunks
2 tbsp mint, chopped
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
For the spiced shallot and cherry tomato sauce:
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
4 shallots, peeled and chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
400g of cherry tomatoes, halved
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp mint, chopped
2 tbsp fresh chives
Sea salt and ground black pepper
Method:
To prepare the lamb:
Place the lamb in a baking dish and coat it well on all sides with the smashed garlic, rosemary, chopped parsley, mint, oil, lemon and cracked black pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Take the lamb out of the refrigerator for 30 minutes before stuffing it, to bring it to room temperature.
To make the stuffing:
Toss the breadcrumbs with 2 tbsp rapeseed oil. Spread them on a baking sheet and toast for 6-8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they are golden brown.
Heat a medium pot over high heat for 1 minute. Add the remaining rapeseed oil, the rosemary and the chilli; let them sizzle in the oil about 1 minute. Stir in the shallots, garlic and thyme and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Turn the heat down to medium and cook about 10 minutes, until the shallots are translucent. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and discard the rosemary.
While the shallots are cooking, heat a medium sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Crumble the chorizo into the pan, and sauté about 8 minutes, until the sausage is crisp and cooked through. Drain the chorizo of excess oil and add it to the bowl with the onions. Stir in the breadcrumbs, mint and parsley and combine well.
Taste for seasoning.
To cook the lamb:
Preheat the oven to 175°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3.
Season the lamb on both sides with sea salt and a little freshly ground black pepper. Lay the meat on a cutting board, fat side down and open like a book.
Spoon as much of the chorizo stuffing as you can (about half or a little more) on the right side of the lamb. Fold the left side over the stuffing, as if you’re closing a book. If some of the stuffing falls out, stuff what you can back in.
Tie the lamb with butcher’s string at 2-inch intervals to hold it together while roasting. Carefully place the lamb on a roasting rack set in a roasting pan.
Put the remaining chorizo stuffing into a small dish and set aside. Roast the lamb for 1 hour and 20 minutes, then rest for 20 minutes.
While lamb is resting put the remaining stuffing in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.
To make the spiced shallot and cherry tomato sauce:
Heat the oil in the pan and gently fry the shallots for 2-3 minutes, add the garlic, tomatoes, cayenne pepper and cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce has reduced slightly. Stir in the herbs and season to taste.
To serve, slice the lamb and serve with the tomato sauce.