Nigella Butterflied Lamb Food

BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB BY NIGELLA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7. Get out a shallow but sturdy roasting tin and put the butterflied leg of lamb in it, skin-side down. Scatter with the snipped bay leaves and half the salt and pour the oil and vinegar over the lamb, then push the garlic slices into crevices where you can and lay the rest on top. Leave to marinate just until the lamb gets to room temperature. Turn the lamb over, so it is now skin-side up, sprinkle with the remaining salt flakes and roast in the hot oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, tent with foil, and let it stand for 15 minutes: this will give you lusciously pink lamb; if you want the meat slightly less pink, then let it stand, under its foil, for 30 minutes. I like to slice the meat and serve it in its piquant juices in the tin, but if you prefer - and for more formal occasions it does make sense - you can arrange the meat on a warmed serving platter and add a little boiling water - maybe an espresso cupful or so - to the juices in the tin before pouring them over the meat on the platter. A few more fresh bay leaves strewn over the meat will add to the aesthetic pleasure of the arrangement, too.

BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB WITH LAVENDER, HONEY & CLAQUERET

Steps:

• To make the claqueret, mix all the ingredients together. The flavours need time to meld, so ideally you should do this a couple of hours ahead and keep it at room temperature until ready to serve. You can also make the claqueret further ahead, cover and chill in the fridge, but remember to take it out and bring it to room temperature before serving.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Lay the lamb out flat, flesh-side up, and use a small knife to make incisions all over both the flesh and fat sides (they can be deeper on the flesh side). Crush the garlic with some sea salt using a pestle and mortar, then add the lavender leaves and flowers, olive oil, lemon, balsamic vinegar and honey to make a rough paste.
• Put the lamb in a roasting tin and push the paste into the incisions you made. Finish with the lamb fat-side up. Mix the glaze ingredients together and spoon this over the lamb. Season, then roast for 15 mins.
• Turn the heat down to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and roast for another 20 mins. The lamb will be pink. Cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for about 10 mins. Carve, then serve with the cooking juices and the claqueret.

BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB WITH FIRE ROASTED EGGPLANT AND GRILLED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Wash the leg of lamb and pat dry. Place in a hotel or lasagna pan.
• In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the salt. Stir until well blended. Pour over the lamb and turn a few times to make sure that the meat is well coated by the marinade. Refrigerate the marinated leg of lamb at least 2 hours, making sure you turn the meat at least once.
• Preheat the grill to medium.
• Season the meat with salt. Transfer to the hot grill and cook for 15 minutes on one side. Turn and continue to cook for another 15 minutes. Move the meat to a colder spot on the grill and cover. Continue to cook to desired doneness; check after meat has cooked for a total of 45 minutes and then again after 1 hour. Time will depend on the thickness of the meat.
• Allow meat to cool for 15 minutes before carving to keep as much of the meat juice. Slice on a bias and serve with fire roasted eggplant and grilled tomatoes.
• Preheat the grill to medium.
• Place the eggplant on the grill for about 30 minutes, turning often. Remove and cool completely.
• Once cool, scrape out the pulp and discard the skins. Reserve.
• Rub the halved tomatoes with olive oil and salt and pepper. Place onto the side of the grill and roast until soft.
• In a large saute pan, over the hot part of the grill, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, onion, cumin, tomato concasse, sesame seeds, and oregano. Cook until onion is soft. Remove from heat and adjust consistency with water. Add the parsley and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

HERBED AND BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• With a mortar and pestle, lightly crush peppercorns and coriander seeds. Transfer to a small bowl, and add olive oil, salt and garlic. Finely grate lemon peel, and add to mixture. Cut lemon into quarters, and squeeze juice into mixture, then add leftover lemon as well.
• Place lamb skin side down in a shallow dish, and press whole rosemary sprigs into scored meat. Pour marinade over meat, pressing lemon pieces into meat. Cover dish with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight.
• When ready to cook, remove lamb from refrigerator, and allow to sit at room temperature while oven heats to 425 degrees. Place lamb skin side up in a roasting pan, keeping lemon pieces and rosemary pressed into underside.
• Roast 35 to 40 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of lamb registers 145 degrees (for medium-well lamb), or adjust cooking time as desired. When cooked to taste, remove lamb from oven, and allow to rest in pan for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.