Leg Of Lamb Stuffed With Greens And Feta Food

STUFFED GREEK LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Lay out the leg of lamb on cutting board with the inside of the lamb facing you. Drizzle olive oil evenly over the lamb. Sprinkle oregano and basil over the lamb. Top lamb with artichoke hearts, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic; season with salt and pepper.
• Roll the lamb around the stuffing. Bundle the lamb with kitchen twine to keep from unrolling. Wrap lamb in aluminum foil and place in a baking dish.
• Roast in preheated oven to your desired degree of doneness, or an internal temperature of 150 degrees F (70 degrees C) for medium, about 90 minutes. Set aside to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes before slicing. Reserve pan juices for serving.

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.

LEG OF LAMB STUFFED WITH GREENS AND FETA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the oil and sauté the fennel bulb over medium heat until just tender, about 3 minutes.
• Add the scallions and chopped garlic and sauté for 2 minutes more.
• Add the greens and sauté, stirring, until wilted.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the fennel seeds and pepper to taste.
• Let cool, then add the mint.
• Make 8 small slits randomly in the lamb and insert the garlic quarters.
• Transfer half of the greens mixture to a small bowl.
• Add the cheese to the greens remaining in the skillet.
• Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding salt if necessary (feta is usually quite salty).
• NOTE: The stuffing should be completely cooled before being spread on the lamb. Spread the cheese mixture on the lamb, squeezing it to extract the excess juices; add some of the remaining greens if needed; the lamb should be well covered.
• Roll and tie the lamb.
• Rub the lamb all over with the remaining greens.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Scrape the greens off the surface of the lamb and reserve.
• Brush the lamb with oil and sprinkle with the oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Place the lamb in a roasting pan that just holds it comfortably, preferably a clay or Pyrex one.
• Roast for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the wine to a boil and simmer for 1 minute.
• Add the reserved greens.
• Pour the greens mixture over the lamb and roast for 5 minutes more. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and roast the lamb, basting frequently with the pan juices, adding a little more wine to the pan if necessary, for about 30 minutes longer, or until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 135°F for medium.
• Remove the lamb from the oven, sprinkle with the chopped fennel or dill, cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Carve the lamb and serve, passing the pan juices in a bowl or sauceboat at the table.

GREEK-STYLE STUFFED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Heat dressing in small skillet on medium-low heat. Add rosemary and garlic; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until fragrant. Remove 3 Tbsp. dressing mixture; reserve for later use.
• Add bread crumbs to remaining dressing mixture; mix well. Cook 3 to 5 min. or until lightly toasted, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add artichokes, cheese and tomatoes; mix lightly.
• Place wire rack in 13x9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray; set aside. Place lamb, cut side up, on cutting board. If any portion of the meat is significantly thicker than other portions, use sharp knife to make horizontal cut into thick portion to partially cut meat in half to make 2 even layers. Open meat, then press with your hands to flatten.
• Spread meat with bread crumb mixture; roll up, starting at one short end. Tie closed in several places with kitchen string; place on wire rack. Rub with reserved dressing mixture.
• Bake 1-1/2 hours or until lamb is cooked to medium-rare doneness (145°F). Remove lamb from oven. Tent with foil; let stand 10 to 15 min. or until done (160°F). Remove and discard string before slicing lamb to serve.

STUFFED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rub lamb inside and out with garlic clove. Stuff leg of lamb and tie securely; sprinkle meat with rosemary.
• Put stuffed lamb on a rack and roast for 1 3/4 hours to 2 hours or until meat is 135 to 140 degrees. Remove from oven as you finish sauce.
• Discard fat in roasting pan. Add wine and broth and reduce. Add tomatoes and olives and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat add parsley.

LEG OF LAMB WITH GREENS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat 1/3 cup olive oil over medium heat. Add fennel bulb, and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 3 minutes. Add scallions and chopped garlic, and cook for 2 minutes. Add greens, and cook, stirring, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and season with fennel seeds and pepper to taste. Stir in mint. Transfer to a bowl until cooled completely.
• Crumble feta cheese over cooled greens; stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Place lamb on a clean work surface. Season with salt, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon oregano. Spread greens over lamb in an even layer. Roll lamb, starting at narrow end, to enclose filling. Using kitchen twine, tie lamb lengthwise and crosswise at 1-inch intervals. Rub with remaining tablespoon oil; season with salt, pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon oregano. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Make four small slits in lamb, and insert the garlic quarters. Place the lamb in a roasting pan that just holds it comfortably. Roast for 25 minutes.
• Add wine, and reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Continue roasting, basting frequently with pan juices, 45 to 65 minutes (or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the lamb registers 125 degrees for medium-rare). If the roasting pan becomes dry, add a little water or chicken stock.
• Remove lamb from oven, and cover with aluminum foil; let rest for 15 minutes. Remove twine from lamb before slicing. Strain pan drippings, skimming fat from the surface; drizzle pan juices over lamb. Serve with okra stew and phyllo rolls, if desired.

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.

SPINACH AND FETA STUFFED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Lay the lamb out flat on work surface, skin side down, pound to thin out as much as you can.
• In a bowl, combine all ingredients for filling.
• Mix well.
• Spread mixture on the lamb evenly.
• Roll up jelly roll style.
• Tie with string at 1" intervals.
• Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Roast in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 325 degrees and roast for an additional hour.
• Test for doneness.
• Remove lamb from pan and deglaze with wine.
• Allow the lamb to rest 10 minutes before slicing and serve with pan drippings.

LEG OF LAMB STUFFED WITH WILD MUSHROOMS AND GREENS

Steps:

• Cook Swiss chard in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. Squeeze chard dry, then finely chop enough to measure 1 1/2 cups. Transfer to large bowl.
• Melt butter with 2 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add wild mushrooms, onion and 1 minced garlic clove and sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 6 minutes. Cool. Transfer to bowl with chard. Add breadcrumbs, cream, 1 tablespoon rosemary, 1 tablespoon thyme, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and mix to blend. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate. Before continuing, stir mushroom stuffing in skillet over medium-high heat until just lukewarm.)
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Open butterflied lamb like book and place cut side up on work surface. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix veal and egg into mushroom stuffing. Spread evenly over lamb; press to adhere. Starting at narrow end, roll up lamb tightly, enclosing filling. Fasten ends with poultry skewers. Rub outside of lamb with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, then with remaining 1/2 tablespoon rosemary, and 1/2 tablespoon thyme. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie lamb with kitchen string at 2-inch intervals to hold shape. Using small sharp knife, cut several 1-inch-deep slits in top of lamb, spacing apart; insert 1 garlic slice into each slit. Place lamb on rack in roasting pan.
• Roast lamb to desired doneness or until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of lamb registers 135°F to 140°F for medium-rare, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Cover with foil and let stand 15 minutes. Remove skewers and string. Cut lamb into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place on platter.

LEG OF LAMB STUFFED WITH GREENS AND FETA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the oil and sauté the fennel bulb over medium heat until just tender, about 3 minutes. Add the scallions and chopped garlic and sauté for 2 minutes more. Add the greens and sauté, stirring, until wilted. Remove from the heat and stir in the fennel seeds and pepper to taste. Let cool, and then add the mint.
• Make 8 small slits randomly in the lamb and insert the garlic quarters.
• Transfer half of the greens mixture to a small bowl. Add the cheese to the greens remaining in the skillet. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding salt if necessary (Feta is usually quite salty). Stuff the lamb with the cheese mixture, squeezing it to extract the excess juices; add some of the remaining greens if needed; the lamb should be well stuffed. Close the opening with toothpicks. Rub the lamb all over with the remaining greens. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat the over to 450°F.
• Scrape the greens off the surface of the lamb and reserve. Brush the lamb with oil and sprinkle with the oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Place the lamb in a roasting pan that just holds it comfortably, preferably clay or Pyrex one. Roast for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the wine to a boil and simmer for 1 minute. Add the reserved greens.
• Pour the greens mixture over the lamb and roast for 5 minutes more. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and roast the lamb, basting frequently with the pan juices, adding a little more wine to the pan if necessary, for about 30 minutes longer, or until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 135°F for medium. Remove the lamb from the oven, sprinkle with the chopped fennel or dill, cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Carve the lamb and serve, passing the pan juices in a bowl or sauceboat at the table.
• NOTE: Alternatively, you can use a butterflied leg of lamb. Spread the stuffing over the lamb, roll it up and tie it. Marinate and roast as directed.