The rich umami flavor of roasted lamb and mint with creamy, tangy feta cheese and the crunch of pine nuts. Delicious!
Most people don’t realize that lamb is a young sheep under 12 months of age which does not have any permanent incisor teeth in wear. Mutton is meat from a sheep over two years old, and has less tender flesh. In general, the darker the colour, the older the animal. Baby lamb meat will be pale pink, in contrast to older meat which is pinkish-red. My preference is, grass-fed from Colorado.
| Prep Time | 25 minutes |
| Servings |
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Ingredients
- 1 cup dried apricots chopped
- 2 T Shallots minced
- 1 T butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cups feta cheese crumbled
- 1 cup pine nuts toasted
- 1/2 cup mint
- 5 pounds leg of lamb butterflied
- 1 T olive oil
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut six 2-foot lengths of butcher's twine. In a small skillet sauté apricots and shallots in butter 1 minute or until lightly browned. Transfer to a small bowl and mix well with feta cheese, pine nuts and mint; season to taste with salt and pepper.
- To butterfly the lamb. Arrange the lamb on work surface, inside facing up. Cut through to the bone. Then around the bone on each side to open it up.
- Place a sheet of plastic wrap over lamb and pound with a meat mallet to flatten meat slightly, if needed, until leg is a fairly even thickness. Remove plastic wrap and generously season inside and outside of lamb with salt and pepper.
- Mound stuffing mixture lengthwise along one side of lamb; roll up lamb over stuffing, tucking in ends.
- Space 5 pieces of twine under lamb roll and tie them firmly, starting at outside and working in. Tie roll lengthwise with remaining piece of twine. In a roasting pan set over 2 burners, heat oil over high heat. Add lamb roll and sear all over, about 6 minutes in all. Transfer lamb to a rack and set down in the roasting pan. Roast until brown and tender and an instant read thermometer reads 140 degrees F for medium rare, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, basting occasionally. Remove from oven and let sit, covered loosely with foil, 10 minutes. To serve, discard strings, slice in 12 pieces and serve
Recipe Notes
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