Roast Lamb Shoulder with Prune and Orange Stuffing
Ingredients
200g moist pitted prunes
small glass port wine
juice and zest of 1 orange
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small red onion
3 slices stale white bread, crusts removed and made into breadcrumbs in the food processor
small bunch flat leafed parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 boned shoulder of lamb
Description
The sweetest meat is the juicy shoulder of lamb. Ask your butcher to bone it out for you, and then remove as much fat as you can. This is best done with a very sharp knife that can cut into the small seams of fat that are often found in this cut.
Method
To make the stuffing, place the prunes in a small pan with the port and orange juice, and bring to a gentle simmer. Leave to cool and the prunes will absorb most of the liquid.
In a heavy frying pan, heat the oil. Peel and chop the onion finely and add this to the oil. Cook over a gentle heat until the onion has softened. Add the breadcrumbs, the chopped prunes and any remaining liquid, the orange zest and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and mix all together well. Allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Open out the boned lamb and spread the stuffing over the inside surface. Roll up and tie neatly with string. Season the outside with a little more salt and pepper and place in a roasting pan. Cook for 45minutes and then remove from the oven. You can check if the lamb is cooked by piercing through to the centre with a meat skewer. The juices that run freely from this pierce-mark should be very pale pink. If they are dark pink or red, the lamb will be very rare and may need a little longer in the oven.
After resting the meat for at least 10 minutes, remove the string, cut the lamb into thick slices, and serve one slice per person with some freshly boiled seasonal vegetables.
Categories
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