Stuffed Lamb

Savory Santa



Several years ago a friend posted a short description (not a recipe) of a roast lamb he had fixed. The dish sounded marvelous and I subsequently made it with great success on a couple of occasions. I hadn't made it in about 12 years but thought of it again as I was trying to decide what to fix for Christmas dinner.

I did tweak the recipe a bit from what I remembered fixing before. Instead of using Roquefort I chose the Point Reyes blue. It was an excellent choice and superior in this case to Roquefort as it doesn't melt so thoroughly. Also, I decided to thicken the sauce with ground pine nuts instead of flour or corn starch. Again, an excellent choice that not only thickened but brought it's own complementary flavor.

To accompany the roast we had broccoli rabe sauteed in olive oil with garlic, onions, and a couple of anchovy filets; pureed rutabaga; homemade French rolls; and ambrosia on homemade pound cake.

Lamb Stuffed with Blue Cheese and Mint

1 ea leg of lamb -- boned, butterflied, and trimmed of fat
1/2 lb blue cheese -- crumbled
1 bunch mint -- chiffonade
1 lg shallot -- cut in half length-ways and sliced into thin 1/2 rings
salt and pepper
1 c red wine
1/4 c pine nuts -- roasted and finely ground

Heat oven to 350F. Flatten lamb and season interior with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with all but 3 tbsp of cheese, mint, and shallots. Roll up and tie with twine. Season exterior with salt and pepper, wrap completely in heavy aluminum foil, and roast until internal temperature is 130F. Fold foil back from roast, increase heat to 450F, and cook until browned on top and internal temp is 140F.

Remove roast from oven and drain juices into a sauce pan. Loosely re-cover with foil and allow to rest.

Reduce roast juices in half over high heat. Reduce heat to medium high, add wine, and reduce to previous level. Stir in ground pine nuts and continue cooking until sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in remaining blue cheese.

Serve.

Kevin