Stuffed Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Apricots
This slow roasted stuffed butterflied leg of lamb is perfect for the festive season or a Sunday roast. The lamb is meltingly tender and the rosemary, apricot and anchovy stuffing adds bursts of flavour to the dish.  
Servings: 6 yield(s)
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 180 mins
Total Time: 200 mins
Ingredients
    For the stuffing
  • 2 garlic cloves (peeled & chopped)
  • 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley
  • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
  • 4 anchovy fillets (in oil, drained)
  • 100 g ciabatta
  • 1 tbsp pine nuts
  • 75 g dried apricots (finely chopped)
  • sea salt & pepper (freshly ground)
    • For the lamb
  • 2 kg Leg of Lamb (deboned & butterflied - you can ask your butcher to do this)
  • 2 red onions (peeled & thickly cut slices)
  • 2 carrots (roughly chopped)
  • 2 celery sticks (halved)
  • 4 cloves of garlic (left unpeeled)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 500 ml red wine
    • For the gravy
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 l lamb or chicken stock
  • 1 glass of red wine
  • 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
  • 1 - 2 tbsp cornflour (optional)
    • To serve
  • seasonal vegetables
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/ gas mark 6.
  2. For the stuffing, add the garlic, parsley, rosemary and anchovies into a food processor and blitz. Place the mixture into a bowl. Now add the ciabatta and pine nuts to the food processor and quickly blitz so the breadcrumbs are quite coarse. Add to the bowl and mix through with the apricots. Season with salt and pepper, then get your clean hands in the bowl and scrunch everything together.
  3. Place the lamb flesh side up on a board opened up like a book. Spoon the stuffing along the centre where the bone was. Roll the lamb up and tie with string.
  4. Place the thickly sliced onions at the bottom of a roasting tin and it the lamb on top. Add the celery, carrots and garlic to the roasting tin. Season the lamb and drizzle with olive oil.
  5. Place the lamb in the oven but reduce the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/ gas mark 4. Roast for 3 hours, after 30 minutes pour some wine over the lamb and continue to do this every 30 minutes until the lamb is tender. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil for 20 minutes.
  6. For the gravy, drain most of the fat from the roasting tin then put it on the hob over a low heat. Add the flour and mash everything together with a fork or potato masher. Add a glass of red wine and bring to the boil, to cook off the alcohol. Pour in the stock and redcurrant jelly and bring back to the boil, scraping all the goodness from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. If you prefer a thicker gravy place 1 tbsp of cornflour in a small bowl with 1 tbsp of cold water. Mix through and add to the gravy.
  7. Sieve your gravy into a jug or pan, using a ladle to really push all the goodness through. Remove the string from the lamb, carve the meat into slices and serve with seasonal vegetables and gravy. Enjoy!