Centre-Loin Lamb Boned & Stuffed

Though I love rack of lamb, it’s great to sit down for a meal and not have to fight the bones. The chef however does that in advance! Not to worry, I’ll take you through the stages step by step.

When you’re buying this, ask your butcher to bone the lamb for you.

I like to prepare this the day ahead so I can relax on the day I cook. Since all the hard work is in the preparation, cooking’s a dawdle in comparison.

It shrinks considerably in the oven (hence I wrap it well in parchment and foil), but it is so concentrated, you really don’t need huge portions.

I wrap it in lean rashers with the rind removed. I then wrap the fat around separately to add flavour but I ultimately discard the fat before serving.

Believe me… my photography doesn’t do this dish justice. It’s simply divine.

Ingredients

• 1 boned centre loin lamb,
• Mint and Rosemary stuffing
• 5 lean rashers with rind removed

Stuffing

• 1 medium onion finely chopped,
• 75g butter
• 100g breadcrumbs
• Salt and pepper
• 2 teaspoons fresh mint leaves (dried if unavailable)
• 2 teaspoons fresh Rosemary (dried if unavailable)
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley

Preparation

First make the stuffing:

1. Melt the butter and sauté the onion until soft and transparent.
2. Place the herbs in a blender to chop finely. Add the herbs, salt and pepper to the breadcrumbs in a bowl.
3. Add the onions and butter to the bowl and mix all ingredients together. Allow to cool before stuffing the lamb.

The Lamb:

1. Preheat oven to 180C (37oF)
2. Remove all the meat from the fat – see picture.
3. Place the cool stuffing on top of the larger piece of meat.
4. Flatten out the smaller piece of meat with a knife by scoring it and stretching it out. Place this piece on top of stuffing.
5. Remove rind from rasher. Wrap the lean piece of rasher around the meat. Next wrap the rind around separately to hold the meat in place.
6. Wrap in parchment and tinfoil and cook for 45 minutes to an hour depending on how well done you like your meat.
7. Any left over stuffing can be baked separately for 10 minutes in the oven to crisp it up and add texture.
8. Remove rind and carve the meat as thinly as possible while being careful to hold its shape.
9. Serve with gravy made form juices along with a variety of vegetables and baby potatoes.