Boneless Leg Of Lamb With Herbed Goat Cheese Food

STUFFED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Remove plastic netting or twine from around the leg of lamb, if any, and open up the roast on a cutting board. Place the boned side of the roast up. With a sharp paring knife, cut away any excess fatty areas. Use a sharp knife to cut 1/2-inch deep slits in the meat about 2 inches apart, to help the meat lie flat. Cover the meat with a sturdy piece of plastic wrap or a cut-apart food storage bag, and pound the meat with a mallet or the edge of a small plate until the roast is about 3/4 inch thick everywhere, and 10 to 14 inches square.
• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Sprinkle the upper side of the meat with salt and pepper, and then spread spinach leaves over the top of the roast to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Break up the goat cheese and sprinkle it evenly over the spinach, then sprinkle the pine nuts over the cheese.
• Roll the roast up into a tight cylinder, and tie the roast together with kitchen twine at 2 inch intervals. It's okay if a little stuffing protrudes from the sides of the roast.
• In a flat dish, mix together the flour, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of pepper, the thyme, and the fennel seeds, and press the tied roast firmly into the flour mixture to coat all sides.
• Heat the sesame oil in a heavy oven-proof or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers, and sear all sides of the roast, including the ends, to a golden brown color. Lay the roast into the skillet, place into the preheated oven, and roast to your desired degree of doneness, or an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (65 degrees C) for medium, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

HERB CRUSTED LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Season the meat with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix the herbs with the olive oil and bread crumbs. Rub both sides of the lamb with the herb mixture. Using the kitchen string, tie up the lamb leg at 2-inch intervals. Place in roasting pan and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Add the wine and water or broth to the roasting pan and cook for another 30 to 40 minutes, or until the thickest part of the lamb reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees F for medium. Take the lamb out of the oven, cover loosely with foil, and let the meat rest for 15 minutes. Slice and serve.

HERB-ROASTED LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven so the lamb will sit in the middle of the oven.
• Peel 6 of the cloves of garlic and place them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and butter. Process until the garlic and rosemary are finely minced. Thoroughly coat the top and sides of the lamb with the rosemary mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Toss the potatoes and remaining unpeeled garlic in a bowl with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the lamb on top of the potatoes. Roast for 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees F and roast for another 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until a meat thermometer registers 130 to 135 degrees F for medium-rare. Place the lamb on a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Slice and serve with the potatoes.

HERB CHEESE BONELESS LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Fillet the leg of lamb on a cutting board and pound it flat with a meat mallet or rolling pin.
• Spread the cheese mixture on the inside of the meat (fat goes on the outside) with a rubber spatula or large spoon.
• Roll roast back into pill shape, place back into netting or tie together with twine.
• Place in a large serving dish, or gallon size zipper bag and pour in wine. Let marinate for 1-2 hours in refrigerator, turning at least once.
• Remove roast from fridge and allow to come to room temperature, sprinkle with thyme and rub with minced garlic.
• Heat grill to 325°F.
• When grill is hot place the roast directly over the fire and sear for 4-5 minutes per side.
• After searing, set the roast to the side of the fire (indirect heat) for the remainder of the cooking time.
• Cook 25 min/lb for medium doneness at 300-325°F.
• Remove from heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

LEG OF LAMB WITH GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Strip the leaves off 5-6 stems of thyme, 3-4 stems of oregano and 5-6 mint leaves. Chop finely and mix with 1 tsp lemon zest and half the garlic. Open the butterflied leg of lamb completely until flat. Spread herbs over cut surface. Spread goat cheese over herbs, distributing as evenly as possible. Roll leg back together and tie with butcher's twine.
• Place stuffed leg into a large zip top bag. Combine wine, lemon juice and honey, stirring until honey dissolves. Add to bag with several more stems of thyme and oregano and remaining lemon zest. Press out as much air as possible and refrigerate 1-2 hours, turning over at least once.
• Preheat oven to 300°F Remove roast from marinade and dry thoroughly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place on a rimmed cookie sheet. Roast 20-25 minutes per lb, or until the internal temperature reaches 135 for rare or 145 for medium. Remove from oven and tent with foil. Let rest 10-15 minutes, until the temperature comes up to 140 for rare or 150 for medium. Remove strings, slice and serve.

ROASTED LAMB SHANKS WITH LEMON AND HERBS

Steps:

• Make the lamb a day in advance: Make several incisions in the shanks with a paring knife and slide a slice of garlic into each slit. Place the shanks in a large baking dish, drizzle with the lemon juice, turning to coat, and season with salt and pepper on all sides. Mix the parsley, thyme and marjoram in a small bowl, then rub the herbs over the lamb. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour. After 30 minutes, place a Dutch oven or covered ovenproof pot in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes.
• Transfer the shanks to a plate and drizzle with the melted butter; reserve the marinade. Carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven. Working quickly, add the shanks, making sure at least one side of each touches the hot pot. Return the pot to the oven, uncovered, and place the lid on another oven rack to keep it hot. Roast the shanks for 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring the reserved marinade and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour the hot marinade over the shanks, then place a large sheet of heavy-duty foil over the pot and cover with the hot lid. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and roast 45 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 200 degrees and cook 30 more minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the lamb inside, undisturbed, to finish cooking, 20 minutes.
• Remove the lamb from the cooking liquid and place in a shallow baking dish. Refrigerate the meat and the sauce separately overnight.
• When ready to serve, position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Drizzle the shallots with olive oil in a small baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Cover the lamb loosely with foil. Bake the lamb and shallots for 25 to 30 minutes, uncovering the lamb and brushing lightly with melted butter after 15 minutes. Meanwhile, discard the fat from the chilled sauce and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Drizzle the finished lamb and shallots with the sauce and garnish with parsley.

BONELESS ROAST LEG OF LAMB WITH FETA CHEESE, OLIVES, AND BABY EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lay the butterflied leg of lamb flat on a work surface, fat side down. Combine the bread crumbs, currants, pine nuts, parsley, garlic, feta cheese, olives, rosemary, olive oil, and lemon juice in a bowl and blend well to make a coarse stuffing for the lamb. Spread the stuffing evenly along the center of the inside of the leg of lamb. Fold the lamb towards the center, one side and then the other, to enclose the stuffing and form a roll. Pin the roll closed with toothpicks or skewers, or tie the roll in several places with butcher's twine so that it does not open during cooking.
• Season the outside of the lamb with salt and pepper and place, seam-side-down, in a roasting pan. Place in the oven and roast for 45 minutes, then add the baby eggplants to the roasting pan with the lamb. Continue roasting the lamb and eggplant for another 35 to 40 minutes for medium rare.
• Remove the lamb and eggplants from the oven and allow the roast to cool for 20 minutes before slicing. Serve 2 to 3 slices of lamb per person and 1 or 2 roasted eggplants. The eggplant should be left whole during roasting, then split down the middle to serve. They should be eaten by scooping out the creamy eggplant interior, leaving the shells behind.

LAMB LEG STUFFED WITH HERBED LEEK DRESSING

Steps:

• Preheat Oven 450 degrees F (230 C).
• In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
• Add leaks and garlic and cook, stirring until most of the liquid evaporates.
• Stir in thyme, sage, rosemary, salt and pepper.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Make several incisions in thickest part of meaty side (only) of butterflied lamb leg.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Spread with leek mixture, leaving small border all around the edges.
• Starting with the long side, roll lamb up, tucking in ends.
• Tie well with string, at 2-inch (5 cm) intervals and once or twice from end to end.
• Place seam side down on rack in shallow roast pan.
• Brush all over with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Pour 1 cup (250 mL) water into the pan.
• Add carrots and onion.
• Place in preheated oven and cook for about 15 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325F (160C).
• Roast uncovered for about 1-1/2 hours, or until internal temperature is 135F (57C) for medium rare.
• Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
• Skim any fat from pan juices; add wine and stock to pan.
• Bring to boil.
• Strain into small saucepan.
• Bring liquid to a boil.
• Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tbsp (25 mL) cold water and stir.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring until well thickened.