Stuffed lamb leg with Greek beans
This roast lamb recipe champions some of the best-loved classic ingredients from Greece including feta, olives, dill and oregano. The beans are inspired by gigantes plaki (Greek baked beans) and are enriched by the lamb fat they are cooked in.
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Serves 8
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Hands-on time 25 mins, oven time 1 hour, 40 mins
Ingredients
- 1 lamb leg (about 2.5kg before boning), butterflied but with shank bone left in (ask your butcher to do this for you)
- 3 onions, cut into eighths
- 1 garlic bulb, cloves separated but not peeled
- 100ml dry white wine
- Koulouri or simit bread to serve (optional)
For the stuffing
- 100g feta
- 50g black pitted olives, roughly chopped
- 50g sun-drenched tomatoes, roughly chopped
- Small bunch dill, finely chopped, plus extra fronds for garnish
- Few sprigs oregano, leaves picked and roughly chopped
- 1 lemon, zest plus wedges for serving
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 60g fresh breadcrumbs
For the beans
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 x 400g tins cherry tomatoes
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3 x 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed
- Small bunch dill, roughly chopped
- Few sprigs oregano, leaves picked
Method
- Heat the oven to 220C fan/gas 9. Put the lamb skin-side down on a board, then open it out and season with salt and pepper.
- For the stuffing, crumble the feta into a bowl and mix with the rest of the stuffing ingredients and plenty of seasoning. Spread the stuffing all over the inside of the lamb, then roll it up and secure with kitchen string (see Know-how). Arrange the onions and garlic in a large roasting tin in a single layer. Halve the zested lemon used for the stuffing and add that to the tin too. Put the lamb on top, season, then roast for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 170C fan/gas 5, add the wine and return to the oven for a further 40-50 minutes; once cooked, transfer the lamb to a board, cover and set aside to rest for 30 minutes. Keep the roasting tin handy.
- To make the beans, squeeze out the flesh from the garlic cloves (discarding the skins) back into the roasting tin and crush with the back of a fork, then add the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, cinnamon, oregano and butter beans. Stir well and return to the oven for 30 minutes while the lamb rests. Once the beans are ready, stir most of the fresh herbs through the sauce.
- Remove the string from the lamb and slice thickly. Serve on top of the butterbeans with the remaining dill and oregano scattered over to garnish, plus the bread and lemon wedges.
Recipe from April 2022 Issue
Nutrition
Nutrition: per serving
- Calories
- 661kcal
- Fat
- 30.7g (11.3g saturated)
- Protein
- 61.3g
- Carbohydrates
- 28g (9.1g sugars)
- Fibre
- 8.9g
- Salt
- 1.03g
delicious. tips
NEFF TIP: This lamb could also be cooked in your Warming Drawer level 3 overnight, covered with foil. To finish the dish, remove the lamb to rest it and add the beans and flavourings to the pan and use the oven to cook the beans for 30 minutes as in the recipe. The lamb will be tender enough to shred with two forks.
There’s no need to learn any fancy butchery knots when you come to truss the lamb leg. Cut several pieces of string long enough to tie around the lamb, then slide them under the joint so they are spaced out at regular intervals. Once rolled, tie the string securely but not so tight that it cuts into the meat as it cooks and expands. Don’t worry if any stuffing comes out during cooking – you can always pack it back in afterwards or serve it alongside.