Stuffed Leg of Lamb Recipe with Garlic, Lemon and Rosemary

Easter Sunday is a day where as a family we get together for a good old traditional Sunday roast. And being Easter we normally have roast lamb. This year I have a really lovely leg of lamb that was bred on a farm just a stone's throw from my home and so I thought I would share my Stuffed Leg of Lamb recipe with you all - it's a family favourite!

We are very fortunate here in Dorset as we have quite a few local farmers who sell their lamb direct, they are generally sold as half a lamb or a whole lamb. This is a great way to buy lamb. You know where it’s come from and bulk buying also makes it very affordable. The farmer here delivers it to my door and the meat is already bagged in joints, lovely chops and even the bones to make stock etc, so it’s freezer ready. It’s a real treat to have locally sourced good quality lamb and of course, we are also supporting our local farmers, so it’s a win win in my books.

The  family is forever growing and expanding (this year in January we welcomed little Ember Grace to the family) so Easter is a really important family event, where we come together and the house is full of love and laughter and it always makes my heart sing.

 I approach the Easter Sunday roast very much like Christmas dinner. I pre prep as much as I possibly can before the day. This takes the stress and strain out of cooking and adds in more time for me to spend with my family and not be tied to the kitchen 100% of the time

 I have already made the roast potatoes and they are sitting in the freezer oven ready. Click the link to follow my Christmas roast potatoes recipe and if you're not using goose fat, try beef dripping as this is easier to buy at this time of year and makes fantastic roasties!

INGREDIENTS:

1 leg of lamb ( you can ask your butcher to bone it but it is simple enough to do, so give it ago)

1 tablespoons of olive oil

 Butchers string

STUFFING:

25g butter

1 small onion finely chopped

1 stick of celery finely chopped

90g bread crumbles 

1 lemon zest and juice 

Freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of sea salt 

2 teaspoons of finely chopped freaks rosemary

1 garlic clove crushed.

METHOD:

To make the stuffing , simply melt the butter into a pan and then add the onion and celery and sauté for around 5 minutes until the onions start to become transparent.

Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, be careful not to let the garlic burn as it will become bitter. Now add the lemon zest and juice and the breadcrumbs, seasoning and rosemary, bringing the stuffing together with ingredients evenly distributed.

Set this aside to cool while you bone the lamb.

I turn the leg fat side down and cut down the centre length ways to locate the bone, then with a sharp knife carefully follow the bone, easing the meat of the bone with a shape knife until it is completely freed and you can remove it.

Leaving the meat fat sit down and spread your stuff evenly along the meat. Bring the leg back together and tie tightly with string ( you may need to ask someone to help you with this job) but if your on your own start in the middle then do the two outer edges and fill in any bits in between, I usually put a couple of strings length ways also so the stuff can’t escape.

Cook Oven 190- 170 fan, gas mark 5 for 20 minutes per pound plus an extra 20. I often put sprigs of rosemary on the top and garlic bulbs cut in half around the meat, but you don’t have to.

Then enjoy your easy to carve Easter roast lamb!