Roast lamb with pistachio, feta & lemon stuffing

Name: Roast lamb with pistachio, feta & lemon stuffing
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 2 kg boneless leg of lamb, untied if needed (or 2.4kg whole bone-in leg of lamb, bone removed); 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for rubbing; 10 g butter; ½ medium red onion, finely chopped; 100 g fresh white breadcrumbs; ½ 25g pack flat leaf parsley, chopped; ½ 25g pack mint, leaves only, chopped; 125 g feta, crumbled; 8 - 2 cloves garlic, grated to a purée, plus 6 more for inserting into the lamb; 1 unwaxed lemon, finely grated zest, plus 1 tbsp juice; 1 preserved lemon, skin only, finely chopped; 20 g unsalted pistachio kernels, roughly chopped; 1 British Blacktail Free Range Medium Egg, lightly beaten; 200 ml dry white wine; 300 ml lamb stock

Diana Henry's succulent roast lamb packs a flavour punch that'll impress everyone round the table

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Serves8
CourseMain meal
Prepare20 mins
Cook1 hr 30 mins
Total time1 hr 50 mins
Plusresting

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Ingredients

2kg boneless leg of lamb, untied if needed (or 2.4kg whole bone-in leg of lamb, bone removed)
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for rubbing
10g butter
½ medium red onion, finely chopped
100g fresh white breadcrumbs
½ 25g pack flat leaf parsley, chopped
½ 25g pack mint, leaves only, chopped
125g feta, crumbled
8 - 2 cloves garlic, grated to a purée, plus 6 more for inserting into the lamb
1 unwaxed lemon, finely grated zest, plus 1 tbsp juice
1 preserved lemon, skin only, finely chopped
20g unsalted pistachio kernels, roughly chopped
1 British Blacktail Free Range Medium Egg, lightly beaten
200ml dry white wine
300ml lamb stock

Method

Preheat the oven to 240ºC, gas mark 9 and take the lamb out of the fridge.
Heat the olive oil and butter and gently sauté the onion until starting to soften. Scrape into a bowl – including the fats – then add some seasoning, the breadcrumbs, herbs, feta, garlic, lemon zest and juice, the preserved lemon, pistachios and egg. Mix together and check the seasoning.
Lay the boned leg of lamb on a board, fat-side down, and season. If it doesn’t look like there’s enough room for the stuffing, cut into the meat to create little pockets. Spread the stuffing over the lamb, keeping it mostly in the centre. Pull the sides up over the stuffing.
Tie the joint at intervals with cook’s string (I get someone to help me with this, it’s quicker). Turn the joint fat-side up. Make deep incisions all over the lamb with a sharp knife. Cut the 6 garlic cloves into slivers lengthways and push them into the incisions. Place in a roasting tin. Rub oil all over the lamb and season. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 190°C, gas mark 5 and cook for 1 hour more.
Put the lamb on a warm platter and cover with a double layer of foil and some clean tea towels. Leave to rest for 20 minutes. Pour off and keep any cooking juices from the roasting tin, but skim off the fat.
Deglaze the lamb roasting tin by setting it over a medium heat and adding the white wine. Bring to the boil, stirring to help dislodge all the congealed juices (therein lies flavour). Add any cooking juices that you poured off earlier and the lamb stock. Boil until the juices are intense in flavour, but not too salty. Remove the string from the joint. Carve it into slices and serve with the juices, along with new potatoes and seasonal greens.