Stuffed Lamb Breast With Lemon Ricotta And Oregano Recipes

STUFFED LAMB BREAST WITH LEMON, RICOTTA, AND OREGANO RECIPE

Steps:

• Finely grind oregano, fennel, and red pepper flakes in spice mill or with mortar and pestle. Place lamb breasts on a work surface, fat side down, and season with salt. Sprinkle spice mixture over top, then rub garlic into meat, working over entire surface.
• Mix egg yolk, Pecorino, ricotta, olives, parsley, and lemon juice in a small bowl to combine and spread evenly over both lamb breasts. Working with 1 breast at a time and starting from a short end, roll up so lamb is resting seam side down. Starting at the center, tie each roll with kitchen twine at even intervals.
• Preheat oven to 300°F. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Season lamb all over with salt and pepper and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 12-15 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Add onion, carrot, shallots, and garlic to same pot; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are browned around edges, 8-10 minutes. Add wine, scraping up browned bits. Bring to a boil and cook until liquid is almost completely evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add lemon, parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, peppercorns, and 4 cups cold water. Add lamb back to pot and bring to a simmer; cover and transfer to oven. Cook, turning once, until lamb is tender but not quite falling apart, 2-2 1/2 hours. Transfer lamb to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
• Bring braising liquid to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until reduced by half, 15-20 minutes. Taste and season with more salt, if desired. Remove kitchen twine from lamb and slice 3/4-inch-thick. Transfer to a platter and strain braising liquid through a fine-mesh sieve over lamb. Top with parsley leaves.
• Lamb can be stuffed 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before cooking.

STUFFED BREAST OF LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Sprinkle the breasts of lamb inside and out with salt and pepper.
• Pick over the spinach and pull off and discard any tough stems or blemished leaves. Drop the spinach into boiling water to cover and cook one minute. Drain. When cool enough to handle, press the spinach to extract as much excess liquid as possible. Chop finely.
• Heat the butter in a saucepan and add the garlic, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms give up their liquid and it evaporates. Add the chopped spinach and stir to blend. Let cool slightly. Spoon the mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the ricotta, Parmesan, egg and nutmeg. Blend thoroughly.
• Stuff each lamb pocket with equal amounts of the filling, packing it down to almost completely fill the pockets. Sew up the openings of each pocket with string.
• Rub the meat all over with oil. Sprinkle both sides with rosemary and place the breasts bone side up on a baking dish.
• Place in the oven and bake 20 minutes.
• Reduce the oven heat to 400 degrees. Turn the breasts bone side down. Bake 25 minutes. Pour off the fat. Pour the broth into the pan and stir to dissolve the brown particles that cling to the bottom and sides of the pan. Place in the oven and bake 15 minutes longer.

ROAST STUFFED BREAST OF LAMB

Steps:

• Heat the oven (350F/180C/Gas Mark 4-5). Make the stuffing as directed on the packet, adding lemon juice to the hot water before mixing the stuffing to give a tangy flavour.
• Spread the stuffing over the lamb, and roll it up carefully, not too tightly. Tie it up in 2 or 3 places with the string, or secure in a roll with cocktail sticks. Lightly rub the outside of the meat with the oil, and either wrap the meat in the foil and place it in a roasting tin, or put the meat in a greased roasting tin and cover the tin with the foil.
• Cook in the oven to 1 1/2 to 2 hours, according to the size of the joint (a bigger joint will take longer) unwrapping or removing the foil for last half hour of the cooking time to brown the meat.