Stuffed Provençal Leg of Lamb
Stuffed Provençal Leg of Lamb
This stuffed Provençal leg of lamb combines tender meat with a savory spinach and goat cheese filling, herbes de Provence, and a rich red wine sauce. A show-stopping dish for celebrations or refined dining at home.
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 1 pound baby spinach
- 1 log goat cheese, approximately 6 ounces, cut up into small pieces
- 8-10 cloves garlic, peeled
- coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 whole leg of lamb, trimmed of all fat and butterflied but not tied
- Sea salt
- Herbes de Provence
- 10-12 Roma tomatoes, quartered
- 2½ cups water, or chicken stock
- Red wine, for deglazing the roasting pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°.
- In a large pan heat a tablespoon of olive oil. When hot, add the baby spinach and cook for 1–2 minutes, just until spinach is just wilted.
- Place spinach in a bowl with the goat cheese. Add a teaspoon of olive oil and 4 crushed cloves of garlic. Also add a good dose of ground black pepper. Mix all of the ingredients together to form a sort of paste. It will be sticky looking.
- Place the lamb on a chopping board, opening it up so that it lies flat. It will look like an elongated S. Spoon the spinach mixture onto the length of the lamb. Fold the lamb back to its original shape, now containing the spinach mixture in the middle of the lamb.
- Using kitchen string, tie the leg of lamb at evenly spaced intervals. Once tied, cover the outside of the roast with olive oil. Make small slits into the meat and push in the remaining garlic cloves. Cover the roast with herbes de Provence and some black pepper and sea salt to taste. Place the lamb in a roasting dish. Surround the lamb with the Roma tomatoes. Drizzle a little olive oil on the tomatoes.
- Bake the lamb at 425° for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 400°. At this point add a little water or chicken stock to the baking dish—just halfway up the sides of the tomatoes—approximately 1¼ cups.
- Continue to roast the lamb for an additional 1 hour and 10 minutes or 1 hour and 20 minutes, depending on the size and how pink you like your meat. Once cooked remove the lamb from the oven, place it on a chopping board, cover loosely with foil and let it rest for 10–15 minutes. While it is resting, make the sauce.
- Place the roasting dish on the stovetop and deglaze the pan with some red wine, scraping up all the bits as you go. Bring the wine to a rapid boil and let it reduce by 3⁄4. Add the remaining chicken stock to the sauce and reduce it a little more. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper to your liking. Add one or two knobs of butter to give the sauce a nice sheen.
- To serve, cut thin slices of the lamb and place on warmed plates. Spoon some of the sauce from the pan over the slices and serve some of the gratins alongside.
